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INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 




PLATE I. TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE CELERY CATERPILLAR. 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



A Practical Manual 

CONCERNING 

Noxious Insects and the Methods of 
Preventing Their Injuries 



Professor of Zoology and Eatoniology, New Hampsliire College of Agriculture 
aad the Mechanic Arts 



ILLUSTRATED 



SKCOND (REVISED) EDITION 




NEW YORK llkf^ '^JU^ 



ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

1895 



5^53/ 



By the Same Author 



FUNGI AND FUNGICIDES 

A Praotiial Manual Coucenniis the Funsous Diseases of 
rultivated Plants ami the Methods of Prevcnihip: their 
Kavages. llhistiated. Price, ^1.00. 



SPRAYING CROPS 

Why, When and How. Illustrated. Third (Revised) Edi- 
tion. Eleventh Thousand. ISO pages. Price, 26 cents. 
Orange Judd Company, New York, N. Y. 



TEN NEW ENGLAND BLOSSOMS AND THEIR 
INSECT VISITORS 

Illustrated. Ilonghton, Mifflin A- Co., Boston and New York 



Copyrisrht IS'Jl and 1«I5 

3y clarence m. weed 



PREFACE 



This volnme has been prepared for the purpose of 
furnishing the farmer, the fruit growe;', the floricultur- 
ist, and the housekeeper with a concise account of the 
more importnnt injurious insects with wliich they have 
to contend, . together with a summary of tlio latest 
knowledge concerning the best methods of preventing or 
counteracting the injuries of tliesx) pests. In its prepa- 
ration free use has been made of the information scat- 
tered through the literature of economic entomology; 
and, as a rule, it has been found impracticable to give 
to each author credit for first working out the life his- 
tories of tlie various species. In one way or another the 
contributions of nearly every American economic ento- 
mologist have been drawn ui)on ; but especial mention 
should be made of the helj) obtained from the ])uT)lications 
of Dr. 0. V. Riley, recently United States entomologist, 
whose remarkable investigations during the last quarter 
of a century have placed him foremost among the world's 
economic entomologists. Mention should also be made 
of tbe aid derived from the writings of Messrs. I^i'uner, 
Cook, Comstock, Fei-nald, Fletcher, Forbes, Garman, 
Gillette, Harvey, Howard, Lintner, Osborn, Packard, 
Saunders, Slingerland, and many others. 

The illustrations of this volume have also been 
gleaned from various sources. I am under obligations 
to the authorities of the Department of Agriculture and 
various experiment stations, particularly those of Illi- 
nois, Cornell University, Colorado, Kentucky, Nebraska, 
New Jersey and Ohio, — for the privilege of getting du- 
plicate electrotypes. The authors to whom each of 



VI INSECTS AXD INSECTICIDES 

those figures tliat did not first iippear in mj own publi- 
ciitions should be credited, are indicated in the following 
list : 

After Riley :— Plates III, IV, VI, XII, and figures 
1-4, 8, 15, 23-27, 30-45, 59, 61, 63, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74-76, 
78^, 79, 81-95, 97-103, 105, 119-121, 123, 124, 127-129, 
133-139, 141, 144, 146-149, 150, 155, 157-162, 164-166, 
168, 170, 172-176; after Lugger, fig. 5; after Osborn, 
figs. 169-171; after Garman, figs. 68, 71, 104; after 
Bruner, tigs. 13, 14, 62, 80, 145 ; after Miss Ormerod, 
fig. 167; after Howard, figs. 46-50; after Comstock, 
fig. 141 ; after Lake, plate V, fig. 28 ; after Goff, fig. 
132; after Smith, plate XV, figs. 9, 10, 122; after 
Slingerland, plates VII, X, figs. 30-34, 52-57, 60, 77, 
78, 130, 131 ; after Marlatt, fig. 29 ; after Saunders, figs. 
51, 116; after Packard, figs. 7, 22; after Lintncr, figs. 
16, 58 ; after Popenoe, fig. 108 ; after Gillette, plate 
VIII, fig. QG ; after Bailey, fig. 19 ; after Galloway, fig. 
18 ; after Forbes, figs. 64, 65, 143, 152-154 ; from Insect 
Life, figs. 12, 73 ; after Taschenberg, plate II, figs. 
109-112. 

All the figures are natural size unless otherwise 
stated, and wherever a straight line occurs beside a mag- 
nified drawing, it represents the length of the specimen 
figured. 

I have attempted to make the discussions of life 
histories and remedies as plain and simple as possible, 
omitting, so far as practicable, all technical terms, and 
have included only such details as are necessary to a prac- 
tical understanding of the subjects treated of. In the 
present second edition the book has been thoroughly 
revised to date, and the latest available information 
incorporated. 

C. M. W. 

New Hnr,ipi>hire CoJlerir, of Af/ririilfure and ^^cchanic Arts. 
DuiniA.M. New llAiVTrsniKK, April, 1895. 



CONTENTS 



Page. 
Introduction 9 

PART I 

Insects Affecting the Larger Fruits 

Apple 63 Plum 113 

Pear 94 Peach 121 

Cherry 128 

PART II 

Insects Affecting Small Fruits 

Strawberry 137 Raspberry and Blackberry 159 

Currants and Gooseberries 148 Grape 167 

PART III 

Insects affecting Shade Trees, Ornamental Plants, and 

Flowers 

Shade Trees 189 Rose 216 

Flowers 218 

PART IV 

iifSECTS AFFECTING VEGETABLES 

Tomato 225 Bean and Pea , . 242 

Potato 228 Cabbage... 245 

Celery 234 On ion 261 

Squash and Cucumber 235 Asparagus 263 

PART V 

Insects affecting Cereal and Forage Crops 

Indian Corn 267 Clover 292 

Wheat 278 Grass 299 

PART VI 

Insect Pests of Domestic Animals and the Household 

Insects Affecting Domestic Animals 313 

Insect Pests of the Household 326 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



INTRODUCTTION 



None of the changes modern civilization has made 
upon the earth is more evident to the American farmer 
than that of the increased difficulty of saving his crops 
from the ravages of noxious insects and parasitic fungi. 
Many of us have heard from our fathers and grand- 
fathers of the apples which once grew in abundance 
in yards and along highways, strangers alike to the 
codling moth, maggot or scab ; the luscious peaches free 
from worms and rot; the plums unmarked by the cur- 
culio, and the pears that had yet to learn the secret of 
becoming dwarfed, gnarly and cracked ; of the grapes 
that knew not how to rot and the potatoes whose leaves 
had neither been blighted nor bitten by the Colorado 
beetle. Now all is changed : every crop has foes that 
often gather the lion's share of the harvest. The enemies 
have come from the north and the south, the east and 
the west, from Europe and the islands of the sea, and in 
our own midst they have flocked from the forest to the 
field, deserting a wild plant for its cultivated congener 
or changing their habits to conform to a new environ- 
ment. 

This increase of noxious insects, however, is the 
natural result of the changed conditions of things. 
Among the principal factors tending toward it may be 

1 



2 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

mentioned (1) the massing of crops in limited areas; 

(2) the facilities for transporting insects long distances 
by vessels and railways carrying agricultural products; 

(3) the abandoned farms and orchards that serve as 
breeding grounds ; and (4) the destruction of forests 
and the cultivation of prairies. 

Considering each of these factors briefly, we find 
that the tendency of the first — that of the massing of 
crops in limited areas — toward increasing onr insect 
pests rests upon the biological law that the increase of 
any animal is limited by its food supply. Under the 
natural conditions existing on this continent before the 
advent of the white man, those insects which fed on wild 
plants had as a rule only a limited food supply. The 
apple maggot or raih'oad worm for example is suj)posed 
to have bred originally in the wild haws of the woods. 
The parent fly had then usually to find here and there 
an isolated tree bearing the fruit in which it deposited 
its eggs. Its chances of being caught by a bird or 
entrapped in a spider's web while on this search were 
very good, so that the scarcity of the food supply not 
only directly limited the number of individuals that 
could be produced, but by being scattered it increased 
the chances of the adult insects falling a prey to enemies. 
But in a modern apple orchard all this is changed : the 
food supply is almost unlimited, and is so massed together 
that the insect runs little risk in passing from fruit to 
fruit or from tree to tree. Hence it can multiply indefi- 
nitely unless there is some means of checking it. The 
same line of reasoning applies to a large proportion of 
our injurious insects. 

We are indebted to our commerce on sea and land 
for many of the most noxious insects. Brought to our 
shores from Europe, Asia or Australia by ships, many of 
these pests have found a land which for them was flow- 
ing with milk and honey, and in which their hereditary 



INTRODUCTION 3 

enemies had not yet gained a foothold. Consequently 
they have multiplied without let or hindrance; and by 
natural and artificial means — notably the railroad trains — 
they have rapidly overrun the country of their adoption. 

The abandoned or neglected fields and orchards all 
over the United States hav^e proven a prolific breeding 
ground for many insect pests. Too often the efforts of 
painstaking farmers have been rendered unavailing by 
the proximity of such sources of infection. An orchard 
that has outlived its usefulness had better be converted 
into firewood than left to die uncared for. 

The destruction of forests has compelled certain in- 
sects to resort to cultivated crops for subsistence ; and in 
some cases a decided change in feeding habits has re- 
sulted. So also the bringing of the prairies into culti- 
vation has caused many insects which originally fed on 
wild grasses to resort to pastures and meadow lands. 

The operation of these various causes, together with 
the enormous powers of multiplication possessed by the 
insects themselves, have led to a constantly increasing 
injury to cultivated crops, until to-day these tiny foes 
exact a tribute of ten per cent, of the crop products of 
American agriculture. '^ They form an omnipresent host 
of taxgatherers, taking possession of the farmer's crops 
and enforcing their onerous demands without process of 
law,- unless preventive measures are vigorously prose- 
cuted. They are no respecters of persons : like the rain 
they fall upon the fields of both the just and the unjust. 

" The authorities best able to judge have estimated 
the annual loss in the United States due to these little 
pests at nearly half a billion dollars. Noxious insects, 
according to Dr. 0. V. Riley, recently the distinguished 
entomologist of our National Department of Agriculture, 
occasion losses in the United States which are ^in the 
aggregate enormous, and have been variously estimated 
at from $300,000,000 to 1400,000,000 annually.' In 



4 INSECTS AND IKSECTICIDES 

single states and single seasons the damage is often 
frightful in extent. During some of the great chinch- 
bug epidemics the loss in Illinois occasioned by this one 
insect has amounted to over 173,000,000 a year; and in 
seasons not marked by an outbreak of such a great crop 
pest the injury is much more severe than is ordinarily 
supposed. The official entomologist of the State just 
named, Professor S. A. Forbes, — after years of careful 
field observation and statistical study, — has recently ex- 
pressed his belief that ^the insects of the Slate of 
Illinois derive as large a profit from the agriculture of 
this great agricultural State as do the farmers them- 
selves.'"* 

Fortunately, however, there is an extended silver 
lining to this dark cloud of insect injury. If these 
creatures have increased on every hand, our knowledge 
of methods of controlling them has also augmented with 
the passing years. Many of the remedies proposed ten 
or twenty years ago seem now foolish and impracticable. 
Within the last decade especially the progress has been 
phenomenal. It has been shown that many insects can 
be checkmated by a proper crop rotation ; that the nat- 
ural enemies of others can be used to destroy them ; and 
that others are easily killed by improved insecticides. 
But the most important advance has been the introduc- 
tion of the spraying machine, an apparatus by means of 
which insect-killing substances may be easily and rapidly 
distributed over the surfaces of trees, shrubs, vines and 
herbaceous plants. Its introduction into American hor- 
ticulture marks an advance almost as important as was 
marked by the advent of the improved cultivators into 
our agriculture. Before the latter were introduced the 
weeds that infest the soil were fought by the liand hoe, 
but now a single team does the work of many men. In 

*C. M. Weed, Popular Science Montlily. March, 1893. 



INSECT TRANSFORMATION'S 5 

the same way, until recently, various laborious and par- 
tially effective methods were used in fighting noxious 
insects and destructive fungi; but now many foes of 
both these classes are fought on a large aeale by the 
force pump and .spray nozzle, and every season adds 
others to the list of those against which this method 
may be successfully used. With a large class of farmers 
and fruit growers, spraying has become a recognized 
part of the season's operations, and therein lies the chief 
promise of the method. When the belief becomes gen- 
eral that it is as important to save a crop from destruction 
by its foes as it is to produce it ; that fighting noxious 
worms must take its place as a farm process by the side of 
that of fighting noxious weeds ; that the parasitic plants 
which absorb the vitality of leaf and fruit are as danger- 
ous to the crop as the plants which dispute with it the 
possession of the soil, and when along with this recog- 
nition there is placed before the farming community a 
cheap and wholesale method of preventing the injuries 
of these organisms, — then the vast annual loss now suf- 
fered because of insects and fungi will be very greatly 
lessened. The pages which follow are devoted to a con- 
sideration of the more important of the first named of 
these enemies — the noxious insects — and to the methods 
of preventing their injuries. 

INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS 

Insects are distinguished from related animals by 
having three pairs of feet, fitted for locomotion, at- 
tached to a body divided into three princijDal parts — 
head, thorax and abdomen. A majority of them are 
also characterized by undergoing during their develop- 
ment a series of well-marked changes, or transforma- 
tions. Such insects exist in four distinct stages, namely : 
(1) the egg ; (2) the larva or caterpillar; (3) the pupa or 
chrysalis ; and (4) the adult or imago. As an example 



6 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

of these changes we may take the celery caterpillar, the 
transformations of which are illustrated in Plate I. The 
adult butterfly, a handsome, black creature, with yellow 
and blue markings on its wings (Plate I, e, /), deposits 
an egg on the underside of the celery leaf. This egg 
{a) is a small, light yellow object, nearly spherical, 
though slightly flattened where it is attached to the leaf. 
A week or so after it has been laid there hatches from it 
a small caterpillar or '^Svorm," less than one-tenth of an 
inch long, black, with two transverse white bands — one 
across the middle of the body and the other at the pos- 
terior extremity — and having the back roughened with 
minute, black, projecting points. This little caterpillar 
feeds upon the celery leaf, and within a few days so in- 
creases in size that it becomes necessary to shed its skin, 
or molt. For this purpose the skin splits along the 
back and the caterpillar crawls out, clothed in a new skin 
that had been formed beneath the old one. The color 
markings are somewhat different on this new covering. 
The caterpillar continues feeding and growing for several 
weeks, casting its skin at occasional intervals, and chang- 
ing considerably in color and markings. AYhen full 
grown it is of the form and size indicated at h on the 
plate, the general color being pale green, with a series of 
transverse bands of black and yellow markings. When 
irritated it thrusts out, from a slit just back of the head, 
a pair of peculiar yellow Y-shaped organs, that emit a 
disagreeable odor. These organs on the caterpillar are 
represented at h, and at c is shown a front view of tlie 
head, with them extended. They doubtless serve as a 
protection from various enemies. 

The full-grown caterpillar becomes restless, and 
leaving the plant, seeks some sheltered situation in which 
to pupa^-e. *' It first spins," says Dr. Harris, ''a little 
web or tuft of silk aa^ainst the surface whereon it is rest- 
mg, and. entangles the hooks of its hindmost feet in it, 



INSECT TRANSEOHMATIOKS 




1. CHINCH BUG. 

Magnified. 



SO as to fix them securely to the spot ; it then proceeds 
to make a loop, or girth, of many silken threads, bent 
into the form of the letter U, the ends of which are fast- 
ened to the surface on which it rests 
on each side of the middle of its body ; 
and under this, when finished, it 
passes its head and gradually works 
the loop over its back, so as to su])- 
port the body and prevent it from 
falling downwards. Within twenty- 
four hours after it has taken its sta- 
tion, the caterpillar casts off its cat- 
erpillar skin, and becomes a chrysalis, 
or pupa (Plate I, d) of a pale green, 
ocher-yellow, or ash-gray color, with 
two short ear-like projections above 
the head, just below which, on the 
back, IS a little prominence like a pug nose. The chrys- 
alis hangs in the same way as the caterpillar, and remains 
in this state from nme to fifteen days, according to the 

temperature. 
When this period 
is terminated, the 
skin of the chrys- 
alis bursts open, 
* and the butterfly 
issues from it, 
clings to the empty 
shell till its 
cramped and 

FIG. 2. CHINCH BUG. a, b, eggs ; c, e,f, g, young drOOping W i 11 g S 
bugs, or nmyphs. Magnified. haVC extended to 

their full dimen- 
sions, and have become dried, upon which it flies away in 
pursuit of companions and food." Besides celery this 
caterpillar feeds upon parsley, carrots, and related plants. 




8 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

The butterfly is known to entomologists as Papilio 
asterias. 

Insects which undergo such a marked series of 
changes as those above described are said to have complete 
transformations to distinguish them from those which 
do not undergo so marked a series of changes — those 
with incomplete traiisfor mat ions. In one stage of exist- 
ence — that of the chrysaHs or pupa — insects of the first 
class take no food and are unable to move about. With 
these, also, the young or larva differs greatly in form 
and appearance from the adult. Thus, caterpillars are 
very unlike the butterflies and moths into which they de- 
velop, and larval honey bees differ greatly from the 
adults ; but with the insects of the second class this 
marked difference does not exist. The chinch bug fur- 
nishes a good illustration of these transformations. The 
adult bug (Fig. 1) deposits eggs (Fig. 2, a, h) about the 
roots of grass and grain. From these hatch young bugs 
(c) that do not differ in general form from the adults. 
They suck the sap from various plants of the grass fami- 
ly, gradually increasing in size, and molting at inter- 
vals. In a few weeks they become nearly full grown, 
but instead of changing to a quiet chrysalis state, they 
simply molt again and continue feeding as before. In 
these early stages, which correspond to the larva and 
chrysalis, they are called nymplis. The older nymphs 
{g) are nearly as large as the full-grown bugs, differing 
mainly in the absence of wings. In about a week they 
again molt and come forth as adult bugs. Grasshop- 
pers, crickets, and all true bugs, undergo these incom- 
plete transformations. 

BITING AND SUCKING INSECTS 

Insects take their food in two ways : some insects 
bite, others suck. The former, of which the Colorado 
potato beetle is an example, are 2^i'^vided with jaws by 



ENEMIES OF INJURIOUS INSECTS 



9 



which they can gnaw the surface of the food plant. The 
latter have, instead, a pointed, tube-like beak which 
they can insert into the tissues of their host plant, and 
suck out the sap. 

On account of this difference in feeding habits some 
insects can be destroyed by coating their food plants with 
poison — the Colorado potato beetle for example — while 
others, like the plant lice or chinch bug, must be treated 
with some insecticide that kills by contact. 



NATURAL ENEMIES OF INJURIOUS INSECTS 

Injurious insects have many natural enemies to con- 
tend with. Among the larger animals they are preyed 
upon by the *^ fowls of the air 
and the fish of the sea ; " frogs 
lick them up with their viscid 
tongues, and toads are contin- 
ually sending them in search 
of the mystic jewel within their 
bodies, while snakes, lizards, 
moles, skunks, and a host of 
other animals are their con- 
stant enemies. But more de- 
structive than any or all of 
these are the foes of their own 
class — the predaceous and parasitic insects. 

Predaceous insects are those which attack other in- 
sects from the outside, devouring them bodily, or suck- 
ing out their lifeblood. The handsome little lady 
beetles, the two-winged robber flies, or the four-winged 
dragon flies furnish good examples of this class. So, 
also, do the black ground beetles, found everywhere un- 
der sticks and stones. Some of the largest of these 
are called caterpillar hunters, because they feed upon 
cankerworms, army worms, cutworms, and various 
other insect pests. One of these ground beetles is shown 




a 

FIG. 3. GROUND BEETLE. 

a, larva; h, beetle. 



10 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

at Fig. 3, the larva being represented at the left, and the 
beetle at the vight. Other predaceous insects live in 
ponds, lakes and rivers, devouring mosquitoes and re- 
lated creatures, wliile still others burrow through the 
earth and devour the insects found therein. 

Parasitic insects differ from their predaceous cousins 
in that they generally develop within the bodies of their 
victims and thus destroy them. These, also, are exceed- 
ingly numerous, both in individuals and species. A good 
illustration of the habits of this class is found in the 
small, four-winged, black fly (shown natural size and 
magnified at the right in Fig. 4), that destroys the com- 
mon grape caterpillar, 
an insect closely related 
to the familiar tomato 
worm or tobacco worm. 
This fly deposits a 
number of eggs beneath 

FIG. 4. CATERPILLAR WITH COCOONS OF ,1 i- . ., Pafpr. 

PARASITE. Adult parasite at right; ^^^® ^^"^ ^^ ^^^® ^^^^^ 
latter magnified. pillar, and tllCSC CggS 

soon hatch into minute worms or maggots that absorb 
the body juices of the worm and develop at its expense. 
After a few weeks these maggots become full groAvn, and 
burrow their way out through the skin of their hapless 
and helpless host. They then spin their white silken 
cocoons (Fig. 4) upon its back. Within these cocoons 
they change to the pupal or chrysalis state. About two 
weeks later they again change, and the legless little mag- 
gots become transformed into neat and pretty black flies, 
with four wings and six legs, like the one which a few 
weeks before deposited in the caterpillar the eggs from 
which they developed. 

The borers that live in the stems of plants are gen- 
erally attacked by parasites that attach themselves to 
the skin on the outside, sucking the juices through the 
openings they make. Such are called external parasites 




ENEMIES OF INJUHFOUS INSECTS 11 

to distinguish them from the internal parasites just con- 
sid(5red. 

But these parasites are not always so successful as 
this, for they frequently furnish a partial illustration of 
the truth of Dean Swift's oft-quoted couplet: 

The Uttle fleas that do us tease 

Have other fleas that bite 'em, 
And these in turn have other fleas, 

And so it goes ad infinitum. 

These parasites are frequently subject to the attack 
of a still smaller parasite which destroys them as they 
destroyed their host. In such 
cases the first-mentioned spe- 
cies is called the primary par- 
asite, and the second a sec- 
ondary parasite. There are 
also foes of another kind from 
which injurious insects often 
suffer. These are the germs 
of contagious diseases, of a 
bacterial or fungous nature. 
The imported cabbage worm, 
for example, is frequently at- 
tacked by a bacterial disease 
— a sort of insect cholera — 
that destroys it in great num- 
bers. Similar diseases affect 
the army worm, the various 

cutworms, and many other ^^^^ cnmcn bugs affected 
insects. Diseases of a some- by fungus. 

what different nature, due to certain fungi other than 
bacteria, also attack many insects. For instance, the 
chinch bug is frequently destroyed in great numbers by 
a fungus that develops on the surface of the bug as a 
dense, white covering. This disease is illustrated at 
Fig. 5: a number of dead bugs are shown on a wheat 




12 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



stalk on the left, while a single bug, much magnified, 
covered with the fungus, is represented at the right.* 

THE ORDERS OF INSECTS 

It is frequently supposed that almost any sort of 
bugs, worms or spiders that fly or crawl about are in- 
sects, but correctly speaking a large 
proportion of these creatures are not 
insects at all. For example a spider 
is not an insect. Neither are the 
^^thousand-legged worms" so often 
found under boards. In both these 
cases the creatures have too many 
legs to belong to the insect class. 
Spiders have eight legs, and the 
'^thousand legs" a great many more, 
while as already stated true insects 
possess but six. Thus by looking at 
Fig. 6 which represents a liarvcst 
spider or *' daddy longlegs" the 
reader will see that there are four 
legs on each side, making eight in 
FIG. 6. HARVEST SPIDER all, whllc lu Fig. 7 whlch represents 
a centipede there are many more. But each of the fig- 
ures of insects shows only three pairs of legs. By count- 
ing the number of legs one can generally very easily tell 
whether one of these animals is an insect or some related 
creature. 

Insects proper are divided into a number of orders, 
the more important of which are briefly described in the 
following paragraphs. 

The lowest order of the Hexa2)0cla — the class of true 
insects — is the Thysannra: it includes the peculiar 
minute insects commonly known as springtails, bristle- 
tails and fish moths. These little creatures are wingless 
and undergo no transformations — never getting beyond 





THE ORDERS OF INSECTS 13 

the larval stage ; some species have an aggregation of 
simple eyes on the head, but very few have compound 
eyes; the principal mouth parts are set back in the head. 
They inhabit a great variety of situations, being found 
abundantly under loose bark and boards lying on the 
ground. Some species, like the fish moth, live in 
houses or other dry places. ^^Many of them have a 
curious spring-like ai:)pendage attached to the tail, which 
is bent under the body, and by means of which the in- 
sects are enabled to make leaps that are enormous com- 
pared with their 

small size. Others ^ ^^ 

have long jointed mFmWmWi^ 

filaments at the end fig. 7. centipede. 

of the body which serve no purpose that we know any- 
thing about. The insects are rarely seen on plants, but 
where an overflow occurs millions of them are sometimes 
found upon the surface of the water, on which they hop 
about as easily as on land. Certain others are some- 
times found on the surface of snow, in midwinter. The 
species live on dead or decaying vegetable substances and 
upon fungi, and in turn furnish food for a great many 
kinds of predaceous forms." (Smith.) Noue of them 
are of material economic importance. 

The next higher order of insects is called the Pseu- 
doneuro2)tera. It includes the dragon flies. May flies, 
stone flies and similar forms. These insects have four 
membranous net-veined wings, with biting mouth jmrts 
and incomplete transformations. The life history of 
the common dragon fly may serve to illustrate the biol- 
ogy of this group. The eggs are laid on the stems or 
leaves of aquatic plants by the adult dragon flies, and 
soon hatch into small larvae that live in the water, prey- 
ing upon mosquito *^^wnigglers" and other aquatic in- 
sects. They are provided with a kind of triangular- 
shaped jaw, with a shnrp pair of scissors at the end ; 



THE ORDERS OF INSECTS 15 

this is called the mask. It is usually concealed under 
the head of the larva, but when an insect comes within 
reach it is suddenly thrust out, grasps the victim and 
returns to its concealed position. The larva grows 
gradually, and finally crawls up out of the water on 
some reed, when its skin splits open along the back and 
the adult dragon fly appears. Tliese insects are preda- 
ceous in all stages of their existence. 

The order of insects to which grasshoppers, crick- 
ets, katydids and similar creatures belong is called the 
Orthoptera, a word meaning straight- winged. The 
insects of this order have four wings, the first pair being 
thickened, and, when at rest, overlapping the second, 
which are folded in longitudinal plaits. The transfor- 
mations are incomplete, the young resembling the adults 
in general appearance. The mouth parts are formed for 
biting rather than sucking. 

The first important family of the Orthoptera is that 
of the cockroaches (Blattidm), There are many species 
of them, the most abundant probably being the oriental 
cockroach and the so-called Croton bug. '' Cockroaches 
are very general feeders ; they destroy nearly all forms 
of provisions and injure many other kinds of merchan- 
dise. They often deface the covers of cloth-bound 
books, eating blotches upon them for the sake of the 
sizing used in their manufacture ; and I have had them 
eat even the gum from postage stamps. They thrive 
best in warm, damp situations ; in dwellings they pre- 
fer the kitchens and laundries, and the neighborhood of 
steam and water pipes. They are chiefly nocturnal 
insects. They conceal themselves during the day be- 
neath furniture or the floors, or within the spaces in the 
walls of a house ; and at night they emerge in search of 
food. The depressed form of their bodies enables them 
to enter small cracks in the floors or walls."* 

*Coinstock. 



16 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



After the cockroaches follow two families of peculiar 
insects. The first includes the soothsayers or praying 
mantes, and the second the walking sticks. The for- 




FIG. 8. BIKD GBASSHOPPER OR AMERICAN LOCUST. 

mer are found especially in warm climates, at least one 
species occurring commonly in our Southern States. 




FIG. 9. A KATYDID. 



The walking sticks also are most al3undant in the trop- 
ics, although one species occurs in the Northern States. 



THE ORDERS OF INSECTS 17 

The common grasshoppers or locusts belong to the 
family AcrididcB, a large group containing many injuri- 
ous species. The hind legs are long and stout, fitting 
the insect for jumping. The. largest species inhabiting 
the United States is tile bird grasshopper, or American 
locust, represented natural size in Fig., 8. This hand- 
some insect might readily be mistaken for a small bird 
when it is flying at a distance. It inhabits the Southern 
States, occasionally occurring as far north as Central 
Ohio. Accounts of other species will be found in the 
later pages of this book. 

The family Locustidm includes the long-horned 
grasshoppers and katydids. These insects especially 
abound during the late summer and early autumn 




FIG. 10. THE BLACK CRICKET. 



months, when their familiar sounds greet us on every 
side. Most of the insects of this family are green in 
color, to correspond with the herbage among which 
they live. 

The crickets which form the family Gryllidce are 
abundant everywhere in fields and meadows, and prob- 
ably do considerably more damage than they are usually 
credited with. In the Northern States the common 
2 



18 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

black species generally winter over in the condition of 
eggs which are dejoosited in the ground. The climbing 
or tree crickets and the burrowing or mole crickets are 
abnormal members of this family. 

The order Hemiptera includes the true bugs. They 
have four wings, sucking mouth parts and incomplete 
transformations. Here belong the bark lice, the aphides, 
the tree hoppers, the various plant bugs and many 
others. The most notorious plant-destroying species of 
this order is the chinch bug. The appearance of a t3^p- 
ical member of this order is represented in Fig. 11. 

The moths and butterflies form the order Lejndop- 
tera, or scaly- winged insects. Under the microscope 
the wings of these are seen to be cov- 
ered with minute scales which overlap 
one another. They have complete 
transformations and, in the adult state, 
sucking mouth parts. They are divided 
into a large number of families, the 
most important of which are the fol- 
lowing : 

The various families of butterflies 
are grouped together under the name fig, n. 

Rliopalocera. The adults are mostly lesser water bug. 
day fliers and the larvae, as a rule, live u2:>on green vege- 
tation. The life history of the asterias butterfly already 
described is typical of this group. 

The family Bpliingidm includes a considerable num- 
ber of injurious insects, of wliich the common tomato 
worm is a familiar example. The adults of this group 
are large-bodied moths, having long sucking tubes, and 
strong wings adapted to swift flight. They fly at dusk, 
visiting flowers in search of nectar, and depositing eggs 
on their various food plants. The larvae are voracious, 
attaining a large size, and pupating in a hollow cell in 
the soil. 




THE ORDERS OF INSECTS 19 

The family of silk-spinning moths, BomhycidcB, in- 
cludes a number of the most injurious insects affecting 
fruit and shade trees. The larvae of this group are 
hairy caterpillars, which feed upon leaves, and when 
full grown spin silken cocoons for protection in the 
l^upal state. The tent caterpillar of the apple and cherry, 
the fall webworm, the tussock caterpillar, the cecropia 
and polyphemus moths and many similar insects belong 
here. 

The family of night-flying moths [Nociuidce) in- 
cludes a large number of very destructive species. The 
cutworms, army worm, wheat-head worm, zebra cater- 
pillar and many other destructive caterpillars belong 
here. In general the larvae have smooth skins, and 
pupate at or near the surface of the soil. The moths are 
of medium size, and as a rule fly only at night. 

There is a large family of small moths called Tor- 
tricidm, the larvae of which are commonly known as 
leaf rollers. The normal habit of these little caterpillars 
is to feed upon the surface of leaves, which they roll 
into a protective covering ; sometimes they live singly, 
and sometimes a number live together in a common 
nest. These caterpillars attack the leaves of nearly all 
our fruit and ornamental trees, although as a rule they 
do little damage. Some species, like the codling moth, 
feed upon fruit. 

The family of looping or measuring caterpillars, 
PlialaenidcB, includes the destructive canker worm 
among its members. Many of the larvae of this group 
so closely resemble twigs as to be difficult to detect in 
their natural habitat. The adult moths have slender 
bodies and comparatively large wings, although some- 
times the females are wingless. 

To the Diptera belong the two-winged flies ; the 
common house fly is an excellent example. These in- 
sects undergo complete transformations, have sucking 



20 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



mouth parts, and exhibit a great variety in their habits 
of life. Many live in filth of various kinds ; others are 
aquatic ; others develop in plant tissues, and yet others 
are j^arasitic on the higher or lower animals. 

The Coleoptera or sheath-winged insects form the 
immense order which includes the beetles. The front 
wings are hardened into horny cases 
which cover and protect the mem- 
branous second pair ; the mouth 
parts are formed for biting and the 
transformations are complete. In I 
the larval state the beetles are com- 
monly called grubs. Many beetles 
are destructive to vegetation, while 
a few live upon decaying organic 
matter and others prey upon other 
insects. Only a few of the more 
important families can here be 
mentioned. 

The tiger beetles form a distinct 
family {Cecindelidm) the members 
of which devour many other insects, 
being predaceous in both the larval 
and adult states. These beetles are fig. 12. tiger beetle. 
often brightly colored and marked 3iagnifieci. 

with distinct spots. Tlieir form when magnified is 
shown in Fig. 12. They are abundant in sandy situa- 
tions, and may commonly be seen running along country 
roads or by the side of streams. 

The ground beetles of the family CarahidcB form 
one of the largest groups of this order. The commonest 
species of the family are the elongate black beetles found 
abundantly under boards and stones, resembling Fig. 3 h 
in general shape. These beetles vary much in habits: 
some of them, especially those belonging to the genus 
Harpalus and its allies, feed largely upon vegetation of 




THE ORDERS OF I:N'SECTS 



21 




various kinds, while others, particularly those of the 
genus Calosoma and nearly related genera, are strictly 
carnivorous, being excellent examples of predaceous 
beetles. 

Mauy insects destructive to cultivated crops are 
found in the great family of leaf beetles or Chrysome- 
liclce, which is said to include more than ten thousand 
described species. The most notorious Amer- 
ican member of this family is the Colorado 
potato beetle, but there are many others, such 
as the corn-root worms, the various flea beetles, 
the striped cucumber beetle, the asparagus 
beetle, and others equally injurious. The 
larvae of this group vary much in life history 
and ajipearance: some live exposed on leaves, others are 
leaf miners, and others live on roots under ground. 

A large number of injurious insects are found 
among the snout beetles of the family ^Curnidmiidce and 
its allies. The plum and apple 
curculios, the bean and pea wee- 
vils, the various grain weevils, the 
corn billbugs, the white-pine 
borer, and many others belong 
here. The larvae of these insects 
are usually footless grubs, and 
have varied feeding habits. The 
adults have a habit of dro^Dping 
to the ground when disturbed, 
drawing their legs against the 
«i ^ body and remaining quiet for 

FIG. 14. CLICK BEETLE. , . » ,, ,-, 

a,iarva(wireworm);6,beetie.some time: many of them thus 
Magnified. resemble particles of rubbish 

which commonly occur on the soil surface and thus elude 
the observation of birds or other enemies. 

The hard cylindrical yellow worms frequently found 
in the soil of meadows and grainfields, and commonly 




22 



IKSECTS AKD INSECTICIDES 



called *^virc worms," arc the larva? of the click or snap- 
ping beetles of the family Elateridce. These larvae 
feed upon the roots of plants and sometimes do serious 
damage to young corn and wheat. They are difficult to 
combat by artificial methods. 

The common May beetle or June bug belongs to a 
family — ScaraheidcB — which contains many other well- 
known dej^redators. This insect is the fully developed 
condition of the white grub or ^ 'grub worm" so often 
found in pasture and meadow lands. The rose beetle, 
the spotted grapevine beetle, the ^'^tumblebugs" and 
many others belong to this family. 

The ants, bees, wasps, sawflies and various four- 
wiuged parasites combine to form the order Hymenop- 




FIG. 15. AN ICHNEUMON FLY. rt, larva ; c, pupa ; d, adult, magnified. 

tera. These insects have the jaws fitted for biting while 
the other mouth parts are fitted for sucking. The trans- 
formations arc complete, and there are with few excep- 
tions two pairs of membranous wings having compara- 
tively few veins. This order includes some highly 
beneficial as well as very injurious species. 



PREVENTING INSECT INJURIES 23 

Probably the . most important group of parasitic 
insects is tliat comprising the families Braconidas and 
Ichneumonidge of modern entomologists. These little 
creatures vary greatly in life habits, but a large propor- 
tion of them are primary parasites of injurious insects. 
The adults are four-winged flies with slender bodies and 
antennae, and the larvae are soft, fleshy, footless grubs. 
Many of the females are provided with long exserted 
ovipositors, with which they can reach caterpillars 
hidden in trunks of trees or stems of herbaceous plants. 
The eggs are usually deposited on or in the body of the 
larva selected as the victim. They soon hatch into 
grubs that develop at the expense of the tissues of the 
hosts. Some of the grubs are internal parasites, living 
beneath the skin of the caterpillar, while others attach 
themselves externally. In either case the host is 
doomed: it may be killed long before it gets its full 
larval growth, or may be allowed to complete that 
growth and even spin a cocoon, but sooner or later the 
parasites, like the fox in. the fable, will gnaw away its 
vitals. When the parasitic grubs become fully grown 
they generally spin slight silken cocoons within which 
they change to pupae to emerge later as adult flies. 

METHODS OF PREVENTING INSECT INJURIES 

The methods of preventing insect injuries may con- 
veniently be grouped together in four general classes, 
viz. : (1) Agricultural Methods; (2) Mechanical Methods; 
(3) Use of Natural Enemies ; (4) Insecticidal Methods. 

The chief agricultural methods by which the in- 
juries of noxious insects may be prevented are the 
following: 

Clean Culture. — There is probably no one general 
method by which the farmer can do more to protect his 
crops from insect injury than by clean culture. A large 
proportion of injurious insects pass the winter under 



24 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

rubbish of many sorts the burning of which late in fall 
will lead to their destruction. If the rubbish is not 
allowed to accumulate such insects will have less chance 
to find suitable quarters, and will be more likely to perish 
from the effects of weather. Clean culture also reduces 
the ojjportunity of feeding and breeding, and enables 
one with greater certainty of success to aj^ply insecticides 
or other methods of destruction. *^It is a safe rule," 
writes Prof. J. B. Smith, ^'whenever a crop is gathered, 
to clear off the remnants and destroy them as completely 
as possible. This is contrary to the general practice, 
which is to get the crop and let the remnants take care of 
themselves, until the land is prepared for something 
else. Melon, citron, squash, cucumber and other similar 
vines are simply left in the fields after the crop is gath- 
ered, and there many a borer and many a striped beetle 
comes to maturity long after the farmer is done with the 
plants. The rule should be to gather and burn, either 
by fire or in the manure pit with lime. 

'^In orchards, this recommendation is of especial 
importance. In dead wood, on the tree or on the 
ground, many species hide or complete their develop- 
ment during the winter. Every dead branch and twig 
should be cut, and with the other rubbish hauled out 
and burnt. The ashes will make a good fertilizer. 
Rubbish is never a source of advantage, and may be the 
exact contrary in many instances. Loose bark does not 
help a tree much, while it does afford shelter to many 
hibernating species. Never leave an old Avood pile in or 
near an orchard, especially if the wood is of the same 
kind as the orchard trees. Many insects breed preferably 
in dead wood ; but wdien it becomes too dry or too rotten, 
they have a sharp instinct that enables them to discover 
a weak or sickly tree, and they attack this at once and 
ruin it, where otherwise it might recover. Fallen fruit 
should always be destroyed. Were this systematically 



PREVENTIis^G INSECT INJUEIES 25 

done, there would soon be no further complaint of cur- 
culio, and less of codling moth. The fruifc should be 
fed to hogs, buried deeply, burned with quicklime, or 
disposed of in some other way that will prevent its 
maturing the contained insects. Field and orchard 
should contain, as nearly as possible, nothing save the 
crop, and when no crop is on the ground there should be 
nothing else — certainly neither rubbish nor remnants." 

Crop Rotation. — By a thoroughgoing system of 
crop rotation the multiplication of many insect pests is 
effectually prevented. This process may act by starving 
the pests as in the case of the western corn-root worm, 
an insect which deposits eggs in the cornfield in autumn, 
the eggs hatching into worms the following spring. If 
then no corn is present the worms j^erish. Or the 
process may compel the insect to feed upon scattering 
weeds and grasses as in the case of the corn-root louse, 
thus giving a decided check to its powers of multiplica- 
tion. There are many and cogent reasons for crop 
rotation besides those relating to insects, and good 
farmers seldom plant a given crop on the same ground 
for successive years. '^^Good agriculture" says Professor 
S. A. Forbes "is the first and best insecticide." 

Fall Plowing. — The injuries of many insects may 
largely be prevented by fall plowing. The pests affect- 
ing the roots of grasses and grains are largely subject to 
injury by this method which exposes them in one stage 
or another to the attacks of birds and other enemies, as 
well as to washing and freezing by the elements and in- 
jury by other methods. 

Fallowing. — Summer fallowing may sometimes be 
used to advantage in starving out certain j)ests, although 
its adoption is seldom necessary. 

Refraining from Culture. — Sometimes when a 
crop pest of the first class — such as the chinch bug — be- 
comes overwhelmingly abundant over a wide area, it is 



26 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

desirable to refrain for one or two years from the culture 
of the crops upon which the insect develops. The suc- 
cessful carrying out of this method involves the co-oper- 
ation of the farmers of a large district. 

Fertilizing. — It is a well-established general rule 
that a plant is better able to resist insect attack when it 
is in a thrifty, growing condition than when it is Vv'eak 
in vitality. Consequently such fertilization as will bring 
about the healthiest growth of the crop is desirable. 
Some fertilizers also have a direct insecticidal value : 
kainit, nitrate of soda, and tobacco are good examples. 
Eoot lice are effectually destroyed by these substances. 
Professor J. B. Smith, who has paid special attention to 
the insecticidal value of fertilizers, makes this recom- 
mendation : '^Whenever potash is to be put on as a fer- 
tilizer, use it, if possible, in the form of kainit and as a 
top-dressing as soon as the ground is prepared and before 
the crop is in ; use nitrogen in the form of nitrate of 
soda, also as a top-dressing, and just when you want 
your plants to have it." 

Selection of Resistant Varieties. — It has long 
been observed that some varieties of fruits, vegetables 
and grains are more subject to insect attack than others. 
Consequently other things being equal it is advisable to 
select such varieties for planting. 

Modifying the Time of Planting. — Sometimes 
insect attack may easily be prevented by planting the 
crop either earlier or later than the customary time. In 
such cases a careful study of the limits in either direc- 
tion may well be made, and all possible advantage taken 
of the facts. 

Modifying the Time of Harvesting. — Some 
species of insects may be controlled by bringing the crop 
to maturity earlier or later than usual. A study of time 
limits in this case is also advisable and an intelligent pro- 
cedure based upon such knowledge may be adopted. 



MECHANICAL METHODS 27 

Use of Food Plants as Traps. — A number of in- 
sect pests may be best destroyed by planting a favorite 
food plant near the crop to be protected : the insects 
will concentrate upon this and may then be destroyed. 
A good example of this is found in tlie practice of sowing 
mustard between rows of cabbages in order to attract the 
harlequin bug to the former where it may be destroyed 
and the cabbages thus be protected. 

MECHANICAL METHODS 

The more important mechanical methods of con- 
trolling insect depredations may be summarized as 
follows : 

Hand Picking. — The simplest way of preventing 
injury by many insects is to pick them off by hand and 
kill them. Large caterpillars like the tomato worm and 
other sphinxes are generally to be located because of the 
foliage devoured and are easily destroyed. The tent 
caterpillar and orchard webworm are also readily picked 
off when the insects are young and tlieir nests small. 
In the garden and on the home grounds this method 
should be constantly in use, and often in the case of cer- 
tain crops it is the cheapest and most effective way of 
ridding larger plantations of insect enemies. 

Catching by Nets or other Devices. — It is 
sometimes practicable to catch injurious insects by 
means of a net of gauze similar to the collecting net of 
the entomologist. This is simply a gauze bag attached 
to a ring on the end of a handle. It has been recom- 
mended for use on large cabbage plantations in catching 
the early brood of cabbage butterflies and thus prevent- 
ing deposition of eggs that would hatch into cabbage 
worms. Another mechanical device that has proven 
useful is a stiff square of cardboard smeared on each 
side with tar. This is used to catch the l6af hoppers 
affecting grapevines — the cards being waved through 



28 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



^^U 



mn 



the air in which the insects are flying. Another me- 
chanical device is the so-called hopper dozer, by means 
of which insects affecting grass lands are destroyed. 
There are various other similar mechanical means some- 
times used in insect destruction. 

Excluding by Mechanical Means. — Often the 
most practical way of preventing insect injury is to fence 
out unwelcome visitors by mechanical devices. The bag- 
ging of grapes and the covering of young cucurbitaceous 
vines with netting are good examples of this method. 

Catching by Jarring and Beating. — Insects af- 
fecting the fruit or foliage of trees may sometimes be 
induced to fall to the ground by 
sudden jars of the trunk or larger 
branches. They may then be 
killed in various ways. One of 
the commonest methods is to 
spread beneath the tree sheets of 
cloth, either loose upon the ground 
or stretched upouTarious kinds of 
frames. The plum curculio is the 
species most commonly fought in 
this way. Sometimes the foliage 
of vines may be beaten to dislodge 
insect enemies. 

Attracting to Light. — 
Many insects fly to light; advan- 
tage is sometimes taken of this to 
destroy moths or other parents of 
noxious insects. This may be 
done by lighting bonfires, placing a lantern over a tub of 
water, or by a trap similar to the one shown in Fig. 16, 
the pan containing water with a film of kerosene on top. 

Trapping. — Insects are trapped in many ways by 
means of mechanical devices. Cutworms and squash 
bugs will congregate under cliips or small boards placed 




FIG. 16. LANTERN TKAP. 



THE USE OF iTATUKAL ENEMIES 29 

iu infested fields, and are then easily killed. Codling- 
moth hirva3 maybe entra^^ped under boards placed loosely 
around the trunk of the trees. Chinch bugs and army 
worms may sometimes be caught in holes or ditches dug 
in their paths, and may also be prevented from crossing 
into fields by the use of tar so arranged as to form a line 
which the insects cannot cross. Tarred paper may also 
be put around trees to prevent the ascent of pests like 
the cankerworm. 

Inundating. — In the case of certain crops it is pos- 
sible to prevent insect injury by flooding the field. The 
cranberry is the best example of this. It is a simple 
and efficient method. 

THE USE OF NATUKAL ENEMIES 

An intelligent understanding of the use of natural 
enemies in keeping in check injurious insects necessi- 
tates a knowledge of certain general biological laws 
which govern the case. The most important of these is 
probably the one which is commonly stated in this way : 
No animal can multiply beyond the limits of its food 
supply. The truth of this is obvious; but it is often 
overlooked in discussions concerning the use of parasites 
in subduing insect outbreaks. It is so important that 
the interrelations of host and parasite be clearly under- 
stood that I quote at length from an admirable essay by 
Professor S. A. Forbes, in which these relations under 
natural conditions are discussed:* 

'^Evidently a species cannot long maintain itself in 
numbers greater than can find sufficient food, year after 
year. If it is a plant-feeding insect, for example, it will 
soon dwindle if it seriously lessens the numbers of the 
plants upon which it feeds, either directly by eating 
them up, or indirectly by so weakening them that they 

*0n Some Interactions of Organisms, Bulletin, III. State Laboratory 
of Natural History, I, No. 3, 1880. 



30 Ils^SECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

labor under a marked disadvantage in the struggle with 
other plants for foothold, light, air and food. The 
interest of tlie insect is therefore identical with the in- 
terest of the plant it feeds upon. Whatever injuriously 
affects the latter equall}- injures the former, and what- 
ever favors the latter equally favors the former. This 
must therefore be regarded as the extreme normal limit 
of the members of a plant-feeding species, — a limit such 
that its depredations shall do no especial harm to the 
plants upon which it depends for food, but shall remove 
only the excess of foliage or fruit, or else superfluous 
individuals which must either perish otherwise, if not 
eaten, or surviving, must injure their species by over- 
crowding. If the plant feeder multiply beyond the 
above limit, evidently the diminution of the food supply 
will soon react to diminish its own numbers ; a counter 
reaction will then take place in favor of the plant, and 
so on through an oscillation of indefinite continuance. 

'^On the other hand, the reduction of the plant- 
feeding insect below the normal number will evidently 
injure the food plant by preventing a reduction of its 
excess of growth or numbers, and will also set up an 
oscillation like tlie preceding except that the steps will 
be taken in reverse order. 

^' I next point out the fact that precisely the same 
reasoning ap^Dlies to predaceous and parasitic insects. 
Their interests, also, are identical w^tli the interests of 
the species they parasitize or prey upon. A diminution 
of their food reacts to diminish their own numbers. 
They are thus vitally interested in confining their depre- 
dations to the excess of individuals produced, or to re- 
dundant or otherwise unessential structures. It is only 
by a sort of unlucky accident that a destructive species 
really injures the species preyed upon. 

^*The discussion thus far has affected only such 
organisms as are confined to a single species. It remains 



THE USE OF NATURAL ENEMIES 31 

to see how it applies to such as have several sources of 
support open to them, — such, for instance, as feed indif- 
ferently upon several plants or upon a variety of animals 
or both. Let us take, first, the case of a predaceous 
beetle feeding upon a variety of other insects, — either 
indifferently upon whatever sjDecies is most numerous or 
most accessible, or preferably upon certain si3ecies, re- 
sorting to others only in case of an insufficiency of its 
favorite food. 

"It is at once evident that, taking its food insects 
as a unit, tlie same reasoning apjolies as if it were re- 
stricted to a single species for food : that is, it is inter- 
ested in the maintenance of these food species at the 
highest number consistent with the general conditions 
of the environment, — interested to confine its own dep- 
redations to that surplus of its food which would other- 
wise perish if not eaten, — interested, therefore, in estab- 
lishing a rate of reproduction for itself which will not 
unduly lessen its food supply. Its interest in the num- 
bers of each species of the group it eats will evidently be 
the same as its interest in the group as a whole, since 
the group as a whole can be kept at the highest number 
possible only by keeping each species at the highest 
number possible." 

Professor Forbes goes on to show that when the 
rate of reproduction of a parasite is relatively too great 
it causes fluctuations in numbers which are injurious 
both to the parasite and its host, and concludes that in 
a state of nature 'Uhe annihilation of all the established 
enemies of a species would, as a rule, have no effect to 
increase its final average numbers." 

Such being the case where man has not interfered 
with nature, we have next to inquire to what extent 
these principles hold good under the conditions of mod- 
ern agriculture, for those insects which feed upon culti- 
vated crops. Evidently a chief element of disturbance 



32 IKSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

of the natural order here lies in the enormously increased 
food supply — an increase so great and so subject to mul- 
tiplication by man that it is a rare event for an insect to 
reach its limit. If a crop in a given locality is destroyed 
by insects, seed from another region is usually planted 
the following season, so that while under natural condi- 
tions the insect would have been starved out, it is in- 
stead given an increased opportunity to develop. In 
consequence of this, the law that no animal can multi- 
ply beyond the limits of its food supply becomes practi- 
cally inoperative. 

Given then this condition of a plant-feeding insect 
with a practically unlimited food supply to draw upon, 
we have next to consider what relations it would sustain 
to its parasitic enemies. We may take as an example 
the common tomato sphinx caterpillar {Phlcgethontius 
celeus) and its microgaster parasite (Apanteles congre- 
gatus). The latter is a small, black, four- winged fly, 
that deposits eggs beneath the skin of the tomato worm, 
especially along the back. The eggs hatch into little 
maggots that absorb the body juices of the worm, devel- 
oping at its expense and finally coming out upon its 
back where they spin white, silken cocoons, within 
which they change to pupae. Shortly afterward they 
again change to flies, that gnaw out of the cocoons, and 
fly away to continue the work of destruction. The cat- 
erpillar lingers a while in a half -dead condition and 
finally dies. 

The reproductive rate of the parasite appears to be 
somewhat greater than that of the sphinx ; we will sup- 
pose it to be one-third greater — that, for example, each 
sphinx moth deposits forty eggs and each microgaster fly 
sixty. Suppose that in a given locality at a given time, 
the sphinx moths are just as numerous as the micro- 
gaster flies, — for instance that there are one hundred 
moths and one hundred flies. Each of these moths 



THE USE OF N"ATUEAL ENEMIES 33 

deposits on the tomato plants forty eggs, so that 4,000 
caterpillars will shortly liatch. When the latter are 
about half-grown, the one hundred flies appear among 
them and each deposits, in a single caterpillar, sixty 
eggs ; they thus doom at once one hundred of the 4,000 
caterpillars. Consequently there go into the pupal state 
3,900 tomato worms to emerge as moths for the second 
generation. There will appear as the second generation 
of flies 6,000 specimens. The second brood of moths 
will bring forth 156,000 (3,900x40) caterpillars. Six 
thousand of these will be destroyed by the microgasters, 
leaving 150,000 to go into the pupal state for the third 
generation of moths. The third brood of parasites will 
consist of 360,000 individuals. In this way the two 
species continue reproducing for several succeeding gen- 
erations, the microgasters constantly gaining on their 
hosts, until finally a point is reached where there are as 
many parasites as caterpillars. There will then evidently 
be a gTcat and sudden check upon the latter : all of 
those which the parasites are able to find being destroyed, 
while only those few which escape parasitism will survive. 
In the next succeeding generation there will be very few 
caterpillars present — simj^ly the progeny of the survivors 
just mentioned — while the parasites will be sixty-fold 
more numerous than before. At this point, evidently, 
all the parasites except a very few would die off without 
depositing eggs, so that there would be a great and sud- 
den decrease in their numbers. The sphinx caterpillars 
then begin another period of increase. In other words, 
while the law that no species can multiply beyond the 
limits of its food supply is rendered inoperative in the 
case of the sphinx caterpillar, it continues to act in the 
case of the parasite, because man does not artificially 
increase the food supply of the latter. Man's interposition 
evidently has the effect of extending and intensifying the 
oscillations which would occur under natural conditions. 
3 



34 INSECTS AI^D INSECTICIDES 

From this view of the case it becomes evident that 
we cannot hope to exterminate any species of noxious 
insects by means of its parasites alone. On the whole, 
parasitic and predaceous insects are of immense service 
to man. Without them many plant-feeding species 
would multiply to such an extent that the production of 
certain crops would require vastly more effort than it 
does now. To say, as has been said, that parasitic and 
predaceous insects have no economic value, is to put the 
case too strongly. Take, for example, two crop pests of 
the first class — the army worm and the Hessian fly. The 
history of a century shows that these insects fluctuate in 
numbers ; that there are periods of immunity from their 
attacks, followed by seasons when they are overwhelm- 
ingly abundant. It is universally acknowledged that in 
the case of the Hessian fly this periodicity is due almost 
entirely to the attacks of parasites, and in the case of 
the army worm to the attacks of parasites, predaceous 
enemies and infectious diseases. Remove these checks 
and what would be the result ? The pests would keep 
up to the limits of their food supply and would necessi- 
tate the abandonment of the culture of the crops on 
which they feed. Take another case. Professor J. B. 
Smith has argued that '^ under ordinary conditions 
neither parasites nor predaceous insects advantage the 
farmer in the least ; " and to prove it cites this instance : 
''Fifty per cent of the cutworms found in a field early 
in the season may prove to be infested by j^arasites, and 
none of the specimens so infested will ever change to 
moths that will reproduce their kind. Half of the 
entire brood has been practically destroyed and some- 
times even a much larger j^roportion ; but — and the 
'but' deserves to be spelled with capitals — these cut- 
worms will not be destroyed until they have reached 
their full growth and have done all the damage to the 
farmer that they could have done had they not been 



THE USE OF NATURAL ENEMIES 35 

parasitized at all. In other words, the fact that fifty per 
cent, of the cutworms in his field are infested by para- 
sites does not help the farmer in the least." But obvi- 
ously it does help the farmer very greatly the next season, 
for it reduces by half the number of cutworms he will 
have to contend with. As a matter of fact, cutworms 
fluctuate in numbers in a way quite similar to the army 
worm and the fluctuations are largely due to para- 
sitic enemies. I have seen regions where cutworms 
were so abundant that grainfields were literally cut off 
by them as by a mowing machine, and the following 
season the worms were so scarce as to do practically no 
damage. Even the plum curculio and Colorado potato 
beetle are sometimes so scarce as to require no protection 
against them, and the presumption is in favor of the 
parasites as the cause of their scarcity. 

But Professor Smith is right in saying that as a 
general rule there is too great a tendency to rely upon 
natural enemies to subdue insect attack. It is nearly 
always safer to adopt effective measures in keeping pests 
in check than to trust to the chance of their natural 
enemies subduing them. As Dr. C. V. Riley has 
pointed out, ''there are but two methods by which these 
insect friends of the farmer can be effectually utilized or 
encouraged, as, for the most part, they perform their 
work unseen and unheeded by him, and are practically 
beyond his control. These metliods consist in the intel- 
ligent protection of those species which already exist in 
a given locality, and in the introduction of desirable 
species which do not already exist there." 

Various special methods of protecting existing par- 
asites will be described on the following pages. In gen- 
eral it may be said it frequently happens that some 
outbreaks of insects — plant lice, for example — which 
have reached a point where the enemies are overwhelm- 
ingly abundant had better not be treated with insecticides. 



36 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

because in such cases the enemies will check the out- 
break and not destroy themselves. 

The second method of utilizing parasitic aud preda- 
ceous enemies of injurious insects — that of introducing 
them to new localities — can sometimes be used to advan- 
tage in certain exceptional cases, but its practical value 
has been greatly overestimated in recent years by the 
general public. The most remarkable instance of the 
use of this method is the famous one in which the 
Vedalia lady beetle was introduced into California to 
subdue the fluted scale {Icerya jmrcJiasi). This latter 
insect was introduced from Australia into California. 
It there soon became a very troublesome pest because of 
*'its ability to survive for long periods without food, to 
thriye upon a great variety of plants and to move about 
throughout most of its life." In its native home this 
pest was to a great extent kept in check by its natural 
enemies; in America it multiplied enormously with no 
checks upon its increase. Through the efforts of Dr. 
Riley expert entomologists were sent to Australia to 
study the enemies of the fluted scale, and to send to 
California such of these as might prove useful. Various 
enemies were found and forwarded, but ^^one of them, 
Vedalia cardinalis, proved so effective as to throw the 
others entirely into the shade and to render their services 
really unnecessary. It has, so far, not been known to 
prey upon any other insect, and it breeds with surprising 
rapidity, occupying less than thirty days from the laying 
of the eggs until tlie adults again apj^ear. These facts 
account for its exceptionally rapid work, for, in point of 
fact, within a year and a half of its first introduction it 
had practically cleared off the fluted scale throughout 
the infested region."* 

But the very fact that this lady beetle feeds only on 

*Riley. ' , 



THE USE OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 37 

the fluted scale will in the course of time render it less 
useful than if it had a slightly wider range of food. For 
it will necessitate a fluctuatiou in the numbers of para- 
site and host according to the principle already ex- 
plained ; unless, indeed, and this seems a probable con- 
tingency, the lady beetles learn to feed upon other insects 
and thus greatly extend the limits of their food supjily. 
One of the most promising methods of utilizing 
parasites is that of their distribution from a section in 
which an outbreak of a crop pest is reaching its maxi- 
mum, and in which, consequently, the parasites are 
abundant, to a region where the pest is on the increase 
and threatening an outbreak. Such disseminations 
would naturally be brought about through the official 
entomologists in the various parts of the country. 

THE USE OF COi^TAGIOUS DISEASES 

It has long been known that at certain periods in 
the fluctuations of such insects as the army worm and 
chinch bug fatal maladies often appear among them, 
destroying them with great rapidity. The idea of culti- 
vating the germs of these diseases and then distributing 
them in regions where the diseases have not yet appeared 
was first scientifically elaborated by Professor S. A. 
Forbes, State Entomologist of Illinois, who has devoted 
years of the most painstaking investigation to contagious 
insect diseases. The subject has also been taken up by 
Professor F. H. Snow of the University of Kansas, who 
has conducted extensive field experiments in the practical 
utilization of disease germs. Without attempting an 
adequate discussion of the method, it may here be said 
that in general two classes of these diseases are recog- 
nized — one being due to the presence of bacteria of vari- 
ous supposed species, and the other to certain fungi be- 
longing to Entomopthora, Sporotrichum and other 
genera. 



THE USE OF I2srSECTICIDES 39 

The method of utilizing these diseases is to cultivate 
artificially the organism causing the malady, and then to 
distribute it in the field. In the case of the chinch bug 
the fungus is sometimes cultivated by putting some of 
the dead bugs in a box or vessel with a lot of living 
healthy ones : the latter become infected and are then 
scattered in the fields infested by chinch bugs. Another 
and probably better method is to cultivate the germs in 
some nutrient solution on a large scale, and then to 
spray or otherwise distribute it over the infested fields. 

There seems to be no question but that while the 
benefits to be derived from this method have been greatly 
overestimated in the popular mind, it is capable of 
much good under favorable conditions. The chief 
trouble found as yet has been due to weather unfavorable 
to the development of the disease-producing organism. 

THE USE OF INSECTICIDES 

In the great majority of cases the most effective 
method of preventing insect injuries lies in the intelli- 
gent application of insecticides, or insect-killing sub- 
stances. These may be broadly divided into two classes : 
(1) internal poisons, or those which take effect by being 
eaten along with the ordinary food of the insect ; and (2) 
external irritants, or those which act from the outside — 
closing the breathing pores, or causing death by irrita- 
tion of the skin. Besides these, however, various other 
substances are used in preventing insect attack — keeping 
the pests away because of offensive odors, or acting 
simply as mechanical barriers. 

The most important insecticides are the poisons. 
Of these the most popular are the various combinations 
of arsenic known as Paris green, London purple, arse- 
nate of lead, and a large number of patent insecticides 
sold under various names. 

Paris Green is a chemical combination of arsenic 



40 INSECTS AND I:NSECTICIDES 

and copper, called aceto-arsenite of copper. It contains 
usually from fifty-five to sixty per cent, of arsenic, and 
retails at about thirty cents per pound. It is practically 
insoluble in water, and may be applied either dry or wet. 
In the former case for certain crops it should be well 
mixed with some fine pow^der as a diluent : plaster, air- 
slaked lime, flour, road dust, and finely sifted wood 
ashes, all answer the purpose fairly well, though lime or 
plaster is usually preferable. The proportion of poison 
to diluent varies greatly with different users — one part 
poison to twenty, and eyen fifty, of diluent, will usually 
be effective, if the mixing be thoroughly done. Paris 
green is almost insoluble in water ; but there is often a 
small 23ercentage of it soluble, and to prevent the injury 
this may do to foliage it pays to add a little fresh lime- 
water (made by slaking fresh lime in water) to the spray- 
ing mixture. It may be used in spraying i^otatoes, apple 
trees, and most shade trees, at the rate of four or five 
ounces to fifty gallons of water. On stone fruits, esjie- 
cially peach, use half this strength, unless lime is added. 
In preparing, a good plan is to dish out the poison, then 
add to it something more than double the amount of 
freshly slaked lime ; then make into a paste with a little 
water and add to the whole amount of water, straining 
through some suitable sieve. 

Paris green is a heavy pow^der and does not stay 
long in suspension ; hence it must be kept constantly 
stirred to prevent its settling to the bottom of the vessel. 
Buy it in as finely powdered condition as possible, and 
get it of a reliable dealer. It can be purchased in cans 
holding fourteen pounds or more, at twenty cents per 
pound, and ordinarily retails at a slightly higher figure. 

The true Paris green (the copper aceto-arsenite) is 
known in the arts as Schweinfurt green, Emerald green, 
Mitis green and French green. ^'Scheele's green, the 
simple arsenite of copper, is frequently confounded with 



THE USE OF INSECTICIDES 41 

Paris green, but is distinguished from the latter by its 
duller color and the entire absence of acetic acid, which 
is a characteristic constituent of a genuine Paris green."* 
London Purple is a by-product obtained in the 
manufacture of aniline dyes. It generally contains 
nearly the same percentage of arsenic as Paris green, 
which, however, is often in a more soluble form, and 
consequently it is more liable to injure foliage than is 
Paris green. It is a finer powder than the green, and 
hence remains in suspension in water much longer. 
It is also cheaper, retailing at about fifteen cents per 
pound, and in large quantities is obtainable at ten cents 
per pound. It may be used in the same way — as a pow- 
der or in water suspension — and the proportions given 
above answer very well for it. Before using, the soluble 
arsenic should be made insoluble by the addition of lime- 
water. One of the best ways to do this is to add three- 
fourths of a pound of lime to a pound of London purple, 
and thoroughly mix them in a gallon of hot water, allow- 
ing the mixture to stand two hours, and keeping it hot 
during this time if it can be conveniently done. In this 
way the soluble arsenic will be rendered insoluble, and 
the London purple may be used at the rate of four or five 
ounces to a barrel of water. Or the London purple may 
be added to the water as usual, and about two gallons of 
fresh milk of lime (made by slaking lime in water) 
strained into the barrel. If allowed to stand an hour, 
all the soluble arsenic is more likely to be rendered in- 
soluble than if used at once. After London purple has 
been thus treated with lime it can safely be applied to 
tender foliage at a strength of four ounces to fifty gal- 
lons of water. Both London j^urple and Paris green 
may be added to the Bordeaux mixture (four ounces 
poison to fifty gallons mixture), as described more fully 

* H. H. Ross. 



42 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

on page 51, and then the treatment with lime is not 
necessary. 

Arsenate of Lead. — This substance has recently 
been used successfully by the Massachusetts Gypsy Moth 
Commission for the destruction of caterpillars. Its 
chief advantage lies in the fact that it can be applied in 
heavy doses to tender foliage without injury to the lat- 
ter. Mr. C. L. Marlatt says : ''-This insecticide is pre- 
pared by combining, approximately, three parts of arse- 
nate of soda with seven parts of acetate of lead. These 
substances unite chemically and form a fine, white pow- 
der which remains easily in suspension. As now used 
by the Commission, ten pounds of the arsenate of lead 
are used with one hundred and fifty gallons of water, 
two quarts of glucose being added to cause the insecti- 
cide to adhere longer to the leaves. Prof. Fernald's ex- 
perience and our own would indicate that from one- 
fourth to one-half this strength will answer for most 
larvae — the larvae of the gypsy moth proving to be un- 
usually resistant to the action of 2:)oisons. The arsenate 
of lead costs the Commission seven cents a pound whole- 
sale, and glucose sixteen dollars a barrel." 

White Arsenic is sometimes recommended as an 
insecticide but, fortunately, is rarely used. It is much 
more dangerous to have around than the highly colored 
insecticides, because of the danger of mistaking it for 
edible products ; and unless applied as soon as it is 
mixed with water it is very liable to burn the foliage. 

The principal substances used for killing insects by 
contact are the following : 

Hellebore is a powder made of the roots of a jolant 
called white hellebore ( Veratrum alburn). It is a vege- 
table poison, but much less dangerous than the mineral 
arsenical poisons, and kills both by contact and by being 
eaten. It may be applied as a dry powder or in water, 
an ounce to three gallons. It retails at about twenty- 



THE USE OF INSECTICIDES 43 

five cents per j)oiind, and is especially excellent in de- 
stroying the imported currant worm. 

Pyrethrum is an insecticide of recent introduc- 
tion, made from the powdered flowers of plants of the ge- 
nus Pyrethrum. There are three principal brands uj^on 
the market, known as Persian insect powder, Dalmatian 
insect ppwder, and Buhach — the latter being a California 
product. The greatest obstacle to the use of pyrethrum 
has been the difficulty of obtaining the pure, fresh arti- 
cle. After long exposure to air it seems to lose much of 
its insecticidal value. Hence dealers should purchase a 
fresh supply each season, and should keep it in air-tight 
vessels. Pyrethrum is used mainly as a dry powder or 
in water (one ounce to three gallons); but may also be 
used in the form of a tea, or a decoction, a fume, or an 
alcoholic extract diluted. For use as a dry powder it may 
advantageously be diluted with six or eight parts of flour. 
It is especially excellent for clearing rooms of flies and 
mosquitoes, and for killing the common cabbage worms. 
It is practically harmless to man and the higher animals. 

Kerosene and Soap Emulsion. — There are two 
methods of preparing this in common use, — one origi- 
nating with Messrs. Eiley and Hubbard, and the other 
with Prof. A. J. Cook. Both have their advocates. 
According to the former it is prepared by adding two 
gallons of kerosene to one gallon of a solution made by 
dissolving half a pound of hard soap in one gallon of 
boiling water, and churning the mixture by forcing it 
back into the same vessel through a force pump wdth a 
rather small nozzle until the whole forms a creamy mass, 
which will thicken into a jelly-like substance on cooling. 
The soap solution should be hot when the kerosene is 
added, but of course must not be near a fire. In case 
soft soap is used add one quart in place of the one-half 
pound of hard soap. The emulsion thus made is to be 
diluted before using with from nine to fifteen or twenty 



44 INSECTS AND IKSECTICIDES 

parts of water to one part of emulsion. The amount of 
dilution yaries with cliilerent insects ; jilant lice may be 
killed with emulsion diluted with fifteen or twenty parts 
of water, while hard-bodied insects require a dilution of 
only nine or ten parts water. Soft or rain Avater should 
be used in diluting. If this cannot be obtained add a 
little lye or bicarbonate of soda ; or prepare according to 
one of the following methods. 

Professor Cook has two formulas, — one where soft 
soap is used and the other for hard soap. He describes 
tliem as follows : 

Cook's Soft-soap Emulsion. — ^''Dissolve one 
quart of soft soap in two quarts of boiling water. Eemove 
from fire and, while still boiling hot, add one pint of 
kerosene and immediately agitate with the pump as de- 
scribed above. In two or three minutes the emulsion 
will be perfect. This should be diluted by adding an 
equal amount of water, when it is ready for use. This 
always emulsifies readily with hard or soft water ; always 
remains permanent, for years even, and is very easily 
diluted, even in the coldest weather and without any 
heating. In this last respect it has no equal, so far as 
we have experimented. The objections to it are, — we 
cannot always procure the soft soap, though many farm- 
ers make it, and it is generally to be found in our mar- 
kets; and it occasionally injures the foliage, probably 
owing to the caustic joroperties of the soap. We have 
used this freely for years, and never saw any injury till 
the past season. In case of any such trouble use only 
one half the amount of soap — one pint instead of one 
quart. It works just as well." 

Cook's Hard-soap Emulsion. — ^'Dissolve one 
quarter pound of bard soap — Ivory, Babbitt, Jaxon, or 
whale oil, etc. — in two quarts of water ; add, as before, 
one pint of kerosene, and pump the mixture back into 
itself while hot. This always emulsifies at once, and is 



THE USE OF INSECTICIDES 45 

permanent with hard as well as soft water. This is 
diluted with twice its bulk of water before use. The 
objection to a large amount of water sinks before the 
fact that this secures a sure and permanent emulsion 
even though diluted with hard water. This also be- 
comes, with certain soaps, lumpy or stringy when cold, 
so that it cannot be readily diluted with cold water un- 
less first heated. Yet this is true with all hard-soap 
emulsions in case of certain soaps. We can, however, 
always dilute easily if we do so at once before our emul- 
sion is cold, and we can also do the same either by heat- 
ing the emulsion or diluent, no matter how long we wait." 

When the undiluted emulsion, however made, is to 
be kept for future use, store it in a cool, dark place. 
When desired for use measure out the required amount 
and mix it with three or four parts of boiling water. 
Then add cold water to fill out the dilution. 

This emulsion is useful in destroying a large num- 
ber of insect pests, sucli as plant lice, scale lice, chinch 
bugs and similar sucking species. 

Kerosene and Milk Emulsion. — The kerosene 
may be emulsified with milk instead of soap. One gallon 
of sour milk is added to two gallons of kerosene, and the 
mixture is churned by means of a force joump and nozzle 
as directed above. " The change from a watery liquid 
to a thick buttery consistency, much thicker than with 
the soap, takes place very suddenly after three to five 
minutes' agitation. With sweet milk difficulty will fre- 
quently be experienced, and if the emulsion does not re- 
sult in five minutes the addition of a little vinegar will 
induce prompt action. It is better to prepare the milk 
emulsion from time to time for immediate use, unless it 
can be stored in quantity in air-tight jars, otherwise it 
will ferment and spoil after a week or two."* This is 

*C. L. Marlatt. 



46 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

to be diluted in the same manner as recommended for 
the Kiley soap emulsion. 

In applying kerosene emulsion to destroy plant 
mites like the red spider, it is well to add one ounce 
of powdered sulphur to each gallon of the diluted 
emulsion. 

Through the investigations of Professor E. S. Goff 
a modification of the knapsack sprayers has been made 
so that kerosene can be used without emulsifying, being 
mechanically mixed with water at the moment of appli- 
cation. Experiments by Mr. H. E. AYeed of Mississippi 
indicate that by means of the attachment ^^the kerosene 
and water are so thoroughly mixed in the act of pump- 
ing tliat the kerosene is as harmless to the foliage as is 
an emulsion of the same strength, and it is as sure death 
to insects." This seems a very promising advance ; but 
recent experiments by Mr. 0. L. Marlatt indicate that 
there are many practical difficulties encountered in using 
the apparatus. 

Pure kerosene is frequently a useful insecticide for 
certain pests. It is especially valuable in destroying ver- 
min in henhouses, and has been successfully applied to 
the surface of ponds to destroy the larvae of mosquitoes, 
and thus prevent the development of the adults. 

Fish-oil Soap. — Professor J. B. Smith and others 
report excellent results in the use of this substance 
against plant lice and similar insects. This soap is on 
the market at about twelve cents a pound, but according 
to Professor Smith it can be made much more chea2:)ly by 
the following formula : 

Hirsh's crystal potash lye, 1 pound. 

Fish oil, 3 pints. 

Soft water, 3 gallons. 

Dissolve the lye in the water, heat to boiling, and 
then add the oil. It should be boiled about two hours, 
and when done water can be added to make up for the 



THE USE OF INSECTICIDES 47 

loss by GTaporation. For use as an insecticide it is made 
into a dilute suds by dissolving one pound of soap in 
eight gallons of water. It is less liable to injure foliage 
than is kerosene emulsion. 

Lime Spray is made by slaking a half-peck or a 
peck of fresh lime in water, and pouring into a barrel 
nearly full of water, straining the lumps out as it enters 
the barrel. By means of this and the spray pump, trees 
and yines may be literally whitewashed. It is useful in 
mechanically coating plants so that certain insects will 
not molest them. 

Resin Washes. — ^'These washes have proved of 
greatest value, particularly against red scale {Aspidiotus 
aurantii) in California, and will be of use in all similar 
climates where the occurrence of comparatively rainless 
seasons insures the continuance of the wash on the trees 
for a considerable period, and where, owing to the 
warmth, the multiplication of the scale insects continues 
almost without interruption throughout the year. 
Where rains are liable to occur at short intervals, and in 
the Northern States, the quicker-acting and stronger 
kerosene washes are preferable. The resin washes act 
by contact, having a certain caustic effect, but princi- 
pally by forming an impervious coating over the scale 
insects, thereby smothering them. The application may 
be more liberal than with the kerosene washes, the object 
being to thoroughly wet the bark. 

**The wash is made as follows : 

Resin, 20 pounds 

Caustic soda, 5 pounds 

Fish oil, 2J pints 

Water to make 100 gaUons 

*^The ordinary commercial resin is used and the 
caustic soda is that put up for soap establishments in 
large 200-pound drums. Smaller quantities may be 
obtained at soap factories. These substances should be 
finely broken up to hasten action and placed, with the 



48 INSECTS Ais^D INSECTICIDES 

oil, in a large kettle with sufficient water to cover them. 
Boiling should be continued for one or two hours with 
occasional additions of cold water, or until the compound 
will mix perfectly in water instead of breaking up into 
yellowish flakes. The undiluted wash is pale yellow; 
intermixed with water it becomes dark reddish -brown. 
It may be kept in concentrated form and diluted as 
required. 

*^A stronger wash is necessary for the more resistant 
San Jose scale {Asjndiotus j^erniciosus), and for this 
the dilution should be one-third less or sixty-six and 
two-thirds gallons instead of one hundred. This stronger 
mixture is a winter wash and is only to be applied during 
the dormant period ; in the growing season it will cause 
the loss of foliage and fruit."* 

Hydrocyanic Acid Gas. — '^The hydrocyanic acid 
gas treatment of scale-infested trees has hitherto been 
exclusively confined to California, but recently has been 
introduced in the East by the Department to combat the 
San Jose scale. Briefly, it consists in inclosing the tree 
with a tent and filling the latter with the poisonous 
fumes generated with potassium cyanide and sulphuric 
acid. The tents are made of blue or brown drilling or 
eight-ounce duck and painted, or oiled with linseed oil, 
to make them as nearly air-tight as possible. They are 
placed over the trees by hand or with poles in case of 
small trees, but with trees over ten feet high some sort 
of tripod or derrick is used. The outfit for medium- 
sized trees — tent and derrick — will cost from fifteen to 
twenty-five dollars. A tent for trees twenty-six feet tall 
by sixty feet in circumference costs as much as sixty 
dollars. 

''^Commercial fused potassium cyanide (costing in 
bulk forty cents per pound), commercial sulphuric acid 
(at three and one-half cents per pound), and water are 

*C. L. Marlatt, BuUetin V. S. Dept. AgricuUure. 



THE USE OF INSECTICIDES 49 

used in generating the gas, the proportions being one 
ounce by weight of the cyanide, slightly more than one 
fluid ounce of the acid, and three fluid ounces of water 
to every one hundred and fifty cubic feet of space in- 
closed. The generator, which may be any glazed 
earthenware vessel of one or two gallons' capacity, is 
placed within the tent under the tree and the water, 
acid and cyanide, the latter broken up, and put in in the 
order named, after which the operator withdraws from 
the tent. The tent is allowed to remain on the tree for 
one-half hour for large trees, or fifteen minutes for small 
ones. The treatment is best made on cloudy days, early 
in the morning, late in the evening, or at night. Bright 
hot sunlight is liable to cause injury to the foliage, which, 
however, may be largely avoided by using tents of dark 
material or painted black. Three or four men can 
operate six tents "at once, and the expense under such 
conditions, not counting the cost of the outfit, need not 
be more than ten cents per tree." [Marlatt.] 

Tobacco. — This is a very valuable insecticide for 
use against vermin on domestic animals, greenhouse and 
other pests. It may be used in the form of a decoction, 
a smoke, or dry. The refuse stems and powders from 
the cigar factories are very valuable as insecticides and 
fertilizers, and frequently, in the Middle Western States, 
they may be obtained for little or nothing. The decoc- 
tion is made by boiling refuse tobacco stems or dust in 
water, or pouring boiling water over them. This gives a 
concentrated liquid which is to be diluted with cold 
water, until there are two gallons water for each pound 
of tobacco used. It is a good remedy for plant lice. A 
stronger formula, recommended by Mr. M. V. Slinger- 
land, is to steep five pounds of tobacco stems in three 
gallons of water for three hours ; then strain and dilute 
with enough water to make seven gallons, when the 
decoction is ready to use. 
4 



50 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Potash Fertilizers. — Professor J. B. Smith has 
shown that kaiiiit and muriate of potash applied as ferti- 
lizers have a decided insecticidal value against under- 
ground insects. The fertilizer is best a2:)plied just before 
or during rainfall. 

Carbolic Acid, especially in its crude state, is 
valuable for various insecticidal purposes. An excellent 
wash for preventing the injuries of several tree borers is 
made by mixing one quart of soft soap, or about a pound 
of hard soap, with two gallons water, heating to boiling, 
and then adding a pint of crude carbolic acid. Carbolic- 
acid soaps are largely used for destroynig vermin on 
domestic animals. 

Bisulphide of Carbon. — This colorless, volatile 
liquid is used for destroying grain insects, ants, the 
grape phylloxera, and other pests that may be reached by 
a vapor. On exposure to air the liquid evaporates, and 
as the vapor is heavier than air it settles rather than 
rises. In fifty-pound cans the bisulphide costs ten cents 
a pound, though it generally retails for twice this amount 
or even more. It is highly inflammable, and in using it 
great care must be taken that no fire in any form comes 
near it. It should be stored in tight vessels in outbuild- 
ings, securely fastened. It is liable to injure seed grain 
treated Avith it, though it does not affect the milling qual- 
ity of the gi-ain. The liquid has a disagreeable odor, 
which soon completely disappears. 

Benzine is another volatile substance used for much 
the same purposes as the last. 

Gasoline may also be mentioned in the same con- 
nection. 

Coal Tar has been largely used in the West for de- 
stroying Eocky Mountain locusts, being jDlaced on flat 
pans, on which the insects jump and are caught. It is 
also employed to prevent the migrations of the chinch 
bug. A shallow V-shaped channel is made with the 



INSECTICIDES WITH FUNGICIDES 51 

corner of a hoe along the borders of the field to be pro- 
tected, and tar poured in. So long as the tar does not 
dry out, the immature chinch bugs cannot cross it. 

OMBINING INSECTICIDES WITH FUNGICIDES 

It is often desirable to combine a fungicide with an 
insecticide, applying both at the same time and in the 
same mixture. The advantages of this are obvious. The 
following combinations have been found practicable : 

Bordeaux Mixture and Arsenites. — Add four 
ounces London purple or Paris green to fifty gallons of 
dilute Bordeaux mixture. 

''The Bordeaux mixture is made by combining six 
pounds of copper sulphate and four pounds of quicklime, 
with water to make fifty gallons. The copper sulphate 
is dissolved m water (hot, if prompt action is desired) 
aud diluted to about twenty-five gallons. The fresh lime 
is slaked in water, diluted to twenty-five gallons, and 
strained into the copper solution, after which the whole 
is thoroughly stirred with a paddle. Both the copper 
and the lime mixtures may be kept in strong solution as 
stock mixtures, but when combined should be promptly 
used, as the Bordeaux mixture deteriorates on standing." 
This is one of the- very best combined insecticides and 
fungicides. It can be used safely and effectively upon a 
great variety of crops — such as potatoes for Colorado 
beetles and blight, apples and pears for insects and scab, 
and plums for curculio and leaf or fruit diseases. 

Copper Arsenic Solution. — The Ohio Experi- 
ment Station recommends the following combination : 
Paris green two ounces, carbonate of copper two ounces, 
dissolve in three pints of ammonia, add one-half pound 
lime and one barrel of water. It is advised that this be 
substituted for the arsenite and Bordeaux combination 
for the later sprayings of apples, pears, plums, etc., so as 
to avoid the lime coating on the fruit. 



52 



INSECTS AND IKSECTICIDES 



Care must be taken in combining the arsenites with 
other fungicide solutions, as one is hable thus to pro- 
duce a compound very injurious to foliage. Paris green 
or London purple added to simple solutions of copper 
sulphate, or to ammonia compounds without lime, in- 
jures foliage vastly more than in simple water mixture. 

THE APPLICATION OF INSECTICIDES 

The methods of applying insecticides vary according 
to the nature of the substance and the insect against 
which it is to be used. The dry powders are generally 
best applied by means of some powder bellows^ a number 




of patterns of which are upon the market. An appara- 
tus sometimes called the dry-poison duster, which is used 
extensively in the south, is described by Mr. H. E. Weed. 
''It consists simply of two bags made of eight-ounce 
osnaburg cloth attached to tlie ends of a pole about six 
feet long and two inches in diameter — a hickory pole 
being preferred. The bags are made about a foot long 
and six inches deep, and are tacked to the sides of the 



THE APPLICATION OF INSECTICIDES 



53 



pole. The dry insecticide is placed within the bags by 
means of a hole about an inch in diameter^ bored through 
the pole, to be stopped up with a removable plug. For 
cotton plants this apparatus is operated by holding in 
the hands when upon a mule. If the mule goes at a 
brisk trot the poison will be distributed evenly and rap- 
idly. For other plants, such as the cabbage and potato, 
the apparatus may be held in the hand and shaken." 

In many cases the best way to apply dry insecticides 
is by one of the so-called ''powder guns," a good form 
of which is represented in Fig. 17. 

In general, insecticides are most satisfactorily applied 
in a liquid state by means of a force pump and spray 
nozzle. There are four 
general styles of spraying 
machines upon the market. 
First, we have the small 
bucket pumps that serve a 
useful purpose where only 
a comparatively small 
amount of spraying is to be 
done ; then come the knap- 
sack sprayers, one of the 
best of which is illustrated 
in Fig. 18, which are espe- 
cially useful in spraying 
small vineyards and crops 

, - *^ ,1, FICJ. 18. THE KNAPSACK SPRAYER. 

where a horse cannot well 

be driven ; third, we have what may be called the barrel 
class of sprayers, being good-sized pumps to be attached 
to barrels mounted in various ways ; and, finally, there 
are the large-geared machines working automatically by 
horse power. For the general purposes of the average 
farmer or fruit grower the barrel machines are much the 
most useful. They are also of moderate cost, ranging 
from eight to sixteen dollars. They can be used in 




54 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



spraying all sorts of cro)3s, and may well be mounted 
on separate wheels, or the barrel may be placed in a 
wagon when in use. 

For work in the nursery as well as many other 
places an excellent spraying outfit *^can be made by 
firmly fastening a barrel, end up, on a sled made of 




FIG. 19. OUTFIT FOR SPRAYING GRAPES. 

heavy durable timber. Mount upon the barrel a good, 
strong, double-acting force pump provided with two- 
hose attachments, to each end of which fasten twenty- 
five feet of half-inch hose. To the end of each hose 
attach a Vermorel nozzle ; then with the necessary gear- 
ing for hitching the horse, the outfit is complete. For 
operating the machine two men and a horse are required. 
One man does the pumping and attends to the horse, 
while the other walks behind and directs the spray over 
two rows at a time."* 

A good outfit for use in the vineyard, recommended 

* GaUoway. 



THE APPLICATION OF INSECTICIDES 



55 



by Professor Bailey, is ilJustrated in Fig 19. A barrel 
with pump IS mounted crosswise on the wagon, ''and 
the driver rides and pumps. Another man walks be- 
hind and throws the spray up under the vines and on to 
all the clusters by means of a Ver morel nozzle attached 
to a half-inch gas pipe. This gas pipe has somewhat 
the form of a slim letter S, the nozzle being attached to 




FIG. 20. INSECT NET. 

one terminal crook, the other crook resting oyer the 
man's left arm. The hose is attached near the shoulder. 
The pipe is so long that the operator is not obliged to 
stoop, and he can direct the spray in any direction, while 
the apparatus hangs easily upon the arm. A globe 
valve just below the arm enables the operator to shut oS. 
the stream at will." 

The nozzle forms an important part of the spraying 
outfit. There are many varieties of these upon the 
market ; some of them are better adapted to certain kinds 



56 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

of work than are others, so that it pays to have several 
forms on hand wliere there is a variety of spraying to be 
done. Some of the best forms are the Vermorel, Ch- 
max, Eureka, Graduating Spray, Mason, Bordeaux and 
McGowen. The latter is very good for orchard 
work. For spraying large trees, some method of raising 
the nozzle nearly to the toj^ is generally necessary. The 
commonest way of doing this is to fasten the nozzle and 
hose to a long pole ; but a better way is to use a half- 
inch gas pipe or a brass tube, twelve or fourteen feet 
long, attaching the hose at one end and the nozzle at 
the other, or one of the bamboo extensions manufactured 
by some spraying firms. 

COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS 

The apparatus for collecting insects for study is 
neither elaborate nor expensive. One of the first essen- 
tials is a collecting net, which is used for catching but- 
terflies, .moths, bees, flies, wasps, and in fact nearly all 
flying insects. To make it, obtain an iron wire about 
one-fifth of an inch in diameter, and bend it into a cir- 
cular ring twelve or thirteen inches in diameter, leaving 
the ends projecting at right angles to the circle, and 
welding them together so as to form a spur three or four 
inches long. Fasten this spur into the end of a broom- 
stick, or any other convenient handle three or four feet 
long. Then sew over this wire circle a strip of strong 
muslin, an inch or two wide, and to this sew a bag of 
mosquito netting, swiss muslin, or some similar fabric, 
about three feet deep. For collecting insects in ponds, 
a shallower net is needed, and the cloth used should be 
of stronger material. 

After the insects are caught, some way of killing 
them quickly and without injury is needed. For this 
purpose most entomologists use what is called the 
cyanide bottle. To make this, obtain almost any wide- 



COLLECTING AND PKESERVING INSECTS 



57 




mouthed glass bottle with a tight-fitting cork ; place on 
the bottom two or three lumps of cyanide of potassium, 
the size of a hickory nut, cover these with plaster of 
Paris, and, finally, add sufficient water to moisten the 
plaster and make it set. After 
it is hard pour off the surplus 
water if there is any, and let 
the bottle become thoroughly 
dry before inserting the cork. 
This cyanide of potassium is 
poisonous, and of course must 
be handled carefully. If de- 
sired, the bottles may be pre- 
pared at drug stores, at small 
cost. After the plaster is set 
there is practically no danger, 
unless the fumes of the bottle 
be directly inhaled, for which 
there is no excuse. Keep the 
bottle closed except when put- 
ting in an insect. The cya- 
nide fumes, rising through 
the 23orous plaster, will kill it 
almost instantly. This cya- 
nide bottle is to be used espe- 
cially for moths, butterflies, 
bees, wasps and similar in- 
sects, but should not be used 
for worms and caterpillars, 
which are more successfully 
killed and preserved in alco- 
hol. A pair of straight, medium-sized forceps is useful 
in collecting small insects. A supply of ordinary com- 
mercial alcohol, and of various sizes (2, 3 and 4 dram) 
of short, homeopathic vials will be necessary if soft- 
bodied caterpillars, sjnders, thousand-legged worms, etc., 




FIG. 21. CYANIDE BOTTLE. 



58 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



are collected. Empty morphine bottles are very conven- 
ient. An ordinary game bag is an excellent thing to 
carry the bottles, forceps and other *' traps" in, while 
out collecting. 

For rearing insects to study their transformations 
and habits, breeding cages of various kinds are needed. 
Almost any box may be used for this purpose, covering 
it in part with gauze, and placing on the bottom an 
inch or two of moist earth, to prevent the drying of the 
atmosphere. Ordinary jelly tumblers are very useful 
for rearing small leaf -eating caterpillars, and '^bell 
glasses" or glass shades are quite handy. The cages 
should be examined daily, the food frequently renewed, 
and the conditions which the insect would have in its 
natural habitat should be supplied as far as possible. 



is 
Klseger 



PRESERVING THE SPECIMENS 

The first requisite for preserving insects is a supply 
of entomological pins, which are longer and usually 

more slender than 
ordinary pins, an- 
swering the purpose 
much better. What 
known as the 
pin is the 
best made. It can 
be purchased of deal- 
ers in natural history 
supplies. These pins 
vary in size, accord- 
ing to number. No. 2 is used only for very small insects, 
while No. 5 is large enough for any of our species. For 
the majority of specimens of moderate size No. 4 may 
be used. A supply of sheet-cork is also needed. This 
costs about fifty cents a dozen sheets, and may also be 
obtained of natural history supply dealers. 




Fia. 22. SETTING BOARD. 



PRESERVING THE SPECIMENS 59 

Butterflies, moths, and some other insects require, 
for their proper joreservation, what is called a ^* setting- 
board," one of which is shown in Fig. 22. It consists 
simply of two thin strips of pine board, twelve or six- 
teen inches long, nailed to end pieces, with a space vary- 
ing from one-fourth to three-fourths inch between the 
long strips ; a piece of thin cork is fastened to the under- 
side of the strips so as to cover this space. The pin on 
Avhich the butterfly is fastened is pushed through the 
cork until the side pieces are level with the base of the 
wings. The wings are then brought forward until the 
posterior borders of the front ones are at right angles to 
the body, and they are then fastened in place by pieces 
of cardboard held down with pins, as shown in the illus- 
tration. The insect should be left thus fastened until 
dry, so that the wings will remain in the position indi- 
cated. This usually requires from ten to fourteen days. 

Some sort of boxes or cases in which to keep the 
siDCcimens are of course necessary. The simjDlest and 
cheapest receptacles consist of empty cigar boxes, lined 
on the bottom with sheet-cork. Tight wooden boxes of 
almost any kind will also answer the purpose. Shallow 
drawers with the bottoms lined with cork are excellent. 

The specimens must frequently be examined to see 
that museum pests — insects which live on dead animal 
tissues of all kinds — do not destroy them. When these 
are found, bake the specimens in an oven for an hour, 
at a temperature of 140° Fahrenheit. 

Moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and a large number 
of similar insects should be pinned through the center 
of the thorax, or middle division of the body, the pin 
being pushed through until about one-third of its length 
remains above the insect. Beetles, however, should be 
pinned through the right wing cover, and the true bugs 
through the triangular piece at the base of the wings, 
called the scutellum. 



60 IJS SECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Any one desiring to learn about the classification of 
insects will find *^A Manual for tlie Study of Insects/' by 
Professor J. H, Comstock, Ithaca, New York, extremely 
valuable. Professor Packard's books, '^Entomology for 
Beginners," and "Guide to the Study of Insects," which 
can be obtained through book dealers, will also prove 
helpful. 



Insects affecting Orchard Fruits 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE APPLE 



INJURING THE TRUNK 

The Round=headed Apple=tree Borer 

Saperda Candida 

The three later stages of this insect are shown in 
Fig. 23. The beetle {c) is easily recognized by the brown 
color of its body, and the two conspicnous, longitudinal, 
whitish stripes along its back. It appears early in sum- 
mer, and deposits its eggs on the tree trunks, in or under 
the bark, within a few inches of the ground, frequently 
placing them just above the soil surface, or even below it 
where the ground is cracked open so that the beetle can 
descend without difficulty. The insect makes a slit-like 
opening in the bark (Plate IV, a, h) into which the Qgg 
(shown magnified at d) is pushed. A few days later the 
egg hatches into a larva or grub, which gnaws its way 
into the inner bark or sapwood, where it continues to 
feed throughout the season. As winter appi'oaches it 
frequently burrows downward below the surface of the 
ground, and rests there until spring, when it again works 
upward and gnaws the inner bark and sapwood as before. 
It rests again the following winter, and in spring gnaws 
its way deeper into the body of the trunk, cutting cylin- 
drical channels in every direction. Late in summer it 
bores upwards and outwards to the bark, lining a cavity 
at the end of its burrow with dust-like castings (/, g) 
and there rests until spring, when it changes to the 

63 



G4 



INSECTS AND IKSECTICIDES 



dormant chrysalis state. The adult beetle emerges from 
the chrysalis about a fortnight later, eats a hole through 
the bark with its strong jaws, and comes forth to con- 
tinue the propagation of the species. Thus three years 
are required for the development of the insect. 

The place where the larva enters may frequently be 
detected, especially in young trees, by the sawdust-like 
castings that are pushed out. The eggs also may often 
be seen, and are easily destroyed by pressing on the bark 
surrounding them with a knife-blade or some similar in- 
strument. The presence of the larva is shown later by 
the discoloration of the bark where it is at work. 

The full-grown grnb, or larva, of the round-headed 
borer is illustrated at a, Fig. 23. It is about an inch 






FIG. 23. 



ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER. «, larva ; 6, pupa; 
c, beetle. 



long, wholly without feet, whitish, with a chestnut- 
brown head and black jaws. The pujia or chrysalis {h) 
IS lighter colored than the larva, and has numerous 
small spines on its back. 

Remedies. — The injuries of this insect maybe pre- 
vented by applying late in May, or early in June, and 
twice later at intervals of three weeks, a strong solution 
of soft soap to which has been added a little crude car- 
bolic acid. This mixture may be conveniently made by 
mixing one quart of soft soap, or about a pound of hard 
soap, with two gallons of water, heating to boiling, and 



ROUND HEADED APPLE TREE BORER 65 

then adding a pint of crude carbolic acid. It will be 
made more effective and permanent by the addition of a 
small amount of Paris green and lime. The solution 
should be thoroughly applied (a scrub brush is excellent 
for the purpose) to the trunk and larger branches of the 
tree. If the bark of the trees is especially rough, it 
should be scraped before the wash is applied ; and the 
soil should be smoothed down about the base of the 
trunk, so that there will be no cracks for the insects to 
enter to deposit their eggs. Of course the object of tliis 
application is to prevent the laying of the eggs from 
which the grubs hatch. As an additional precaution it 
is well to examine the trees during the late summer and 
early autumn months for eggs and young grubs, which 
are readily detected, and can be easily destroyed with a 
knife. In this way one man can go over an orchard of 
five hundred or more young trees in a day. Professor 
W. B. Alwood reports excellent results in applying, in- 
stead of the wash above described, a paint made of pure 
white lead and linseed oil, ''about the same thickness as 
for outside coating." It is applied with a brush to the 
base of the trees in autumn, preventing the injuries of 
rabbits and other rodents as well as borers. One appli- 
cation lasts a year. A white lead application has been 
found to injure some cherry trees, however. 

The Flat= headed Apple=tree Borer 

dirysolotJiris femorata 

This insect is very different, both in its adult and 
larval states, from the one just discussed. The adult 
beetle, instead of being cylindrical in form and brown in 
color, is flattened and greenish-black. It appears, how- 
ever, at about the same season as the other, and the life 
histories of the two species are in general much alike, 
the principal difference being that the present species 
5 



6Q 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



requires less time to develop, and attacks the tree higher 
up, being found all the way up the trunk, and fre- 
quently in the larger branches. 

The front end of the larva, which is illustrated in 
Fig. 24, a, is enlarged and flattened while the rest of the 
body is much narrower, and tapers slightly towards the 
posterior extremity. It is of a pale yellow color and has 
no f-eet. The pupa (b) is at first whitish, but becomes 
darker as the beetle develops. As 
noted above, the adult beetle {d) 
is of a shining greenish-black 
color, and has short, stout legs. 
It may often be seen basking in 
the sunshine in summer, on the 
sides of trees and logs. The eggs 
of this insect are deposited early 
in summer in the crevices, and 
under the scales of the bark, being 
fastened in place by a glutinous 
FIG. 24. FLAT-HEADED BOR- gubstauce. lu a fcw days the 

ER. «, larva : b, pupa ; e, , • , . , , , , , -, 

front of larva, lower side; larva hatches and bores through 
rf, beetle. the bark to the sapwood, in which 

it cuts broad, flat channels, and sometimes completely 
girdles the tree. As it develops it bores farther into the 
solid wood, and when fully grown again approaches the 
surface. When ready to become a pupa it gnaws par- 
tially through the bark, and then casts its last larval 
skin. About a fortnight later the pupa changes to a 
beetle which gnaws its way through the bark, and thus 
completes the cycle of development. 

Remedies. — The directions given above for the 
round-headed borer are also applicable to this insect. 




THE OYSTER SHELL BAEK LOUSE 



67 



INJURING THE BRANCHES 

The Oyster=shelI Bark Louse 

Afytilaspis po7norum 

A piece of bark covered with the scales of this in- 
sect is represented in Fig. 25. If one of these scales be 
raised early in spring there will be found beneath it a 
mass of yellowish or whitish eggs, which hatch about the 




FIG. 25. OYSTER-SHELL BARK LOFSE. 

middle of May into small lice that appear as mere 
specks to the naked eye. These move about oyer the 
bark a few days, when they fix themselves upon it, in- 
serting their tiny beaks far enough to reach the sap. 




FIG 26. OYSTER-SHELL BARK-LOUSE. 

forming scale; 4, young scale; 5, 
mature scale. Magnified. 



1, egg ; 2, young larva ; 3, larva 
, lice with scales removed; 7, 



Here they continue to increase in size, and by the end of 
the season have secreted scaly coverings like those shown 
in the illustration. 



THE WOOLLY ATHIS 69 

Remedies. — During the winter and early spring 
as many of the scales should be scraped off the trunk and 
larger branches as possible. On large trees this may be 
done by first scraping with some instrument like a hoe, 
and then thoroughly scrubbing with a scrub brush or 
broom, dipped in a solution made by adding one part of 
crude carbolic acid to seven parts of a solution made by 
dissolving one quart of soft soap, or one-fourth of a 
pound of hard soap, in two quarts of boiling water. 
The bark of young trees is so tender that they must be 
scraped carefully, if at all. A scrub brush is the best 
thing to use for applying the soap mixture, as the 
bristles rem^ove many scales which a cloth would slide 
over. Then in May or June, soon after the young lice 
have hatched, the trees should be sprayed with kero- 
sene emulsion. The emulsion must be thoroughly 
mixed, with none of the kerosene floating separately, or 
it is liable to injure the foliage. When the lice are 
young they are very readily destroyed by this substance.. 

The Woolly Aphis 

Schizoneura lanigera 

There are frequently found on the limbs and trunks 
of young apple trees, masses of a white, woolly sub- 
stance, similar to that occurring on the limbs of maple 
trees infested by the maple-bark louse. If one of these 
masses be examined there is found beneath it one or 
more small, yellowish plant lice. This is the insect that 
has for a long time been popularly known as the woolly 
aphis, and is sometimes called the apple-tree root louse. 
There are two forms of the insect, one attacking the 
roots, the presence of which may be easily detected by 
the knotty appearance of the infested rootlets (Fig. 27, a), 
and one attacking the limbs and trunk. Like other 



70 



INSECTS AND I]!0SECTIC1DES 



aphides, these insects multiply rapidly during the summer 
months by giving birth to living young. Most of these 
summer forms are wingless, but occasionally winged 
ones are found. They all injure the tree by sucking out 
its sap through their tiny beaks. They are especially 
liable to infest young trees, or those which are un- 
healthy. The woolly matter which they secrete as a 
covering serves to protect them from the damp earth, 
in their subterranean home on the roots, and probably is 
a partial protection from enemies above ground. It is 




FIG. 27. WOOLLY APHLS. a, rootlet showing galls; fc, wingless aphis; 
c, winged ajjliis ; d-g, structural details ; b-g, magnified. 

not a complete protection, however, as they are preyed 
upon by a small parasitic fly, and by ladybird beetles 
and their larvae. 

The malformations caused by this insect on seedling 
apple trees are well represented in Plate V, while Fig. 28 
shows healthy roots of similar trees. Trees so injured 
are unfit for planting. 

Remedies. — Where these insects are upon the roots 
of trees they may be destroyed by {ipplying scalding 
water, or kerosene emulsion. Eefuse tobacco powder 



THE WOOLLY APHIS 



71 



dug in about the roots will also destroy them. Where 
they are upon parts of the tree above ground, they may 
be destroyed by spraying with kerosene emulsion. Young 



1 ; 


,-^ 




, 




1 

\ 


1- 









Fig. 28. ROOTS OF HEALTHY APPLE SEEDLINGS. Reduced. 

trees from nurseries should always be carefully examined 
before planting, and if the roots are malformed by this 
insect the trees should either be burned or disinfected by 
dipping in kerosene emulsion. 



72 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Buffalo Tree Hopper 

Ceresa bubalus 

One sometimes finds the twigs of young apple trees 
exhibiting a peculiar, scarred appearance like that repre- 
sented at Fig. 29, e. These are due to the egg punctures 
of the above named insect. 

The buffalo tree hopper is a small greenish or yel- 
lowish insect about one-third of an inch long, which is 




FIG. 29. 



BUFFALO TREE HOPPER, a, adult, magnified and natural 
size; 6, fresh punctures; c, rf, eggs; e, scars. 



generally rather common during the late summer and early 
autumn months. A fair idea of its form, which has been 
compared to that of a beeclinut, may be obtained from 
Fig. 29, a. Its mouth consists of a sharp beak, which 
it inserts into the tissues of succulent plants and 



THE BUFFALO TREE HOPPER 73 

sucks their sap. The eggs are laid in the upper part of 
the young twigs of apple, pear, maple and various 
other fruit and sbade trees, mostly during the late sum- 
mer and early autumn months. It is believed that a 
single female may deposit two hundred eggs. '^The 
eggs are placed in small compound groups arranged in 
two nearly parallel or slightly curved slits extending in 
the direction of the twig about three-sixteenths of an 
inch in length, and separated by one-eighth inch or less 
of bark." In making the second slit the insect cuts the 
bark obliquely in such a way as to leave a small piece 
loose ; this causes the bark to die and eventually leaves 
a dead space on the twig. These dead spots are favorite 
places for wood-boring beetles to oviposit in, so that the 
injury by the tree hoppers may be followed by more se- 
rious damage by borers. The eggs remain dormant until 
the following spring when they hatch into small, active, 
greenish hoppers, somewhat like the adults in appearance. 
These feed upon weeds or other succulent plants, gen- 
erally developing upon tender annuals in preference to 
attacking the tougher tissues of woody plants. They be- 
come full grown about midsummer. The eggs of the 
buffalo tree hopper are attacked by at least two minute 
parasites that serve as important checks upon its in- 
crease. 

Remedies. — It is alwa3*s more difficult to prevent 
the injuries of an insect that feeds upon a large variety 
of plants, both wild and cultivated, than one which is 
confined for food to the single crop injured. As a rule 
it is also more difficult to fight those insects which get 
their food by sucking than it is those which bite. The 
buffalo tree hopper combines both of these characteristics, 
so that from the nature of the case we may expect it to 
be a difficult insect to overcome by artificial applica- 
tions. The fact hov/ever that the insect develops upon 
succulent vegetation rather than in the orchard itself, 



74 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

and the fact that it is most destructive in orchards where 
weeds and tender herbage are abundant, indicate that 
clean culture will prove an important method of preven- 
tion. Mr. 0. L. Marlatt, who has carefully studied the 
species, writes : " The limiting of the amount of foreign 
vegetation about and in orchards and nurseries is an ex- 
cellent precaution, and little damage may be anticipated 
where the ground between the trees is kept clean and con- 
stantly cultivated. The larvse and pupae under these 
conditions will be starved out." The pruning of trees 
which are badly infested is also recommended. 



INJURING THE BUDS AND LEAVES 

The Bud Worm 

Tmetocera ocellana 

There is evidence to show that this insect was intro- 
duced to America from Europe early in the present cen- 
tury. It now occurs over a large portion of Canada and 
the United States, and sometimes is very destructive 
over wide areas, occasionally becoming the most serious 
orchard pest of the season. As soon in spring as the 
buds begin to open, the little caterpillars may com- 
mence work upon . them, gnawing the miniature leaves 
and blossoms, but the attack is more likely to begin after 
the buds about half open. The larvae then eat out the 
centers of the buds, where the leaves and flowers are 
least developed. The caterpillar forms for itself a pro- 
tecting case by using silken threads to bind together the 
leaves. As the season advances some of the leaves are 
killed, become detached at the base, and turn brown ; 
the blossoms also are more or less webbed, so that the 
smaller branches present an appearance similar to the 
accompanying illustration. (Fig. 30. ) 



THE BUD WORM 



75 



The life history of this insect may be summarized 
as follows : The moths appear in the orchard early in 
summer; during daylight they rest upon the bark of 
trees or other shelter; at night they fly about and de- 
posit their eggs, one in a place on the underside of the 
leaves. About ten days later these eggs hatch into 
small green larvae, which feed upon the epidermis of the 




FIG. 30. WORK OF BUD WORM AMONG OPENING L,EAVES. 

leaves, each making for itself a silken tube and a thin 
layer of silk for protection and concealment. In a day 
or two the green color changes to brown. 

^^As the larva increases in size and the area over 
which it feeds becomes larger, the tube is enlarged and 
lengthened along the midrib, sometimes becoming nearly 



76 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 




FIG. 31. 



one inch in length. The silken web under which the 
larva feeds covers the entire field of operations, but is 
so thin near the edges where the larva has last fed as to 

be scarcely visi- 
ble. The excre- 
ment of the larva 
being retained by 
the web appears 
as little black 
pellets scattered 
here and there 
over tlie feeding 

APPLE LEAF SHOWING WORK OF YOUKG grOUUd. " * TllC 

BUD WORM. gi^gg^ portion of 

only one side of the leaf is eaten, the veins and veinlets 
being left untouched ; these and the green on the oppo- 
site side die and turn brown, and thus become conspicu- 
ous (Fig. 31). 

Late in summer or early in autumn the half -grown 
caterpillars desert the leaves and crawl upon the twigs, 
where they form 

little silken cases, |^ 

generally near the 
buds or in creases 
m the bark. 
(Fig. 32.) In 

these they remain <— ■» — «t7 ^"'^Sj^^ ^ 

throughout the 

I Tl -f 1 ^^^' ^'^' '^'^'^^S showing the position of the win- 

Wmter. ine lOl- ^^j. liou^eg of the larvse at a, a, and b, natural 

lowing spring size. 

they emerge to feed upon the opening leaves. They 
again make tubes, w^hich serve as protective cases. After 
feeding six or seven weeks they become full-grown ; then 
they form silken cocoons, generally in a rolled leaf or 




*M. V, Slingerland. 



THE BUD WORM 



77 



between two leaves, in which they change to pupae, to 
emerge a short time later as moths. 

The full-grown larvae are cinnamon brown in color 
with the legs, head, and shield behind dead black. They 






FIG, 33. BUD WORM, a, pupa, front view; b, pupa, back view; c, larva. 
Magnified. 

are about half an inch long and of the general form 
shown in Fig. 33, c. The moth (Fig. 34) has a general 
resemblance to the common codling moth. It is dark 
ashen gray with creamy 
white blotches on the 
front wings, which expand 
a little more than half an 
inch. 

Remedies. — These fig. 34. bud- worm moth. 
little pests can most successfully be destroyed by spraying 
with the arsenites early in spring when the buds are 
opening and the larvae just beginning the season's work. 
It is advisable to use the Bordeaux mixture and Paris 
green combination in order to prevent injury by apple 
scab or other fungous maladies as well as by insects. 




78 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Apple Aphis 

Aphis mail 

During spring and early summer, one often finds 
the leaves and tender twigs of apple trees covered with 
small green lice or aphides. These are the insects known 
as the apple aphis. They injure the trees by sucking 

the sap through their tiny 
beaks. So far as we now 
know it, the life history of 
these insects is as follows : 
The lice hatch from eggs in 
spring as soon as the leaf 
buds begin to expand, and 
increase with marvelous ra- 
2:>idity, so that almost as fast 
as the leaves develop there 
are colonies of the plant lice 
to occupy them. They con- 
tinue breeding on apple until 
July, when they largely leave the trees and migrate to 
grasses and other plants. Here, apparently, they con- 
tinue breeding above ground until autumn, when they 
return to the apple, and the winged females may be 
found establishing colonies of the wingless, egg-laying 
form upon the leaves. The males are aj^parently devel- 
oped on grass, along with the winged females. The 
small, oval eggs are now laid on the twigs and buds, and 
the C3"cle for the year is complete. 

Remedies. — These lice have various natural ene- 
mies that destroy them — especially the ladybird beetles 
— but it is often necessary to spray infested trees with 
kerosene emulsion, fish-oil soap, or a strong tobacco de- 
coction to get rid of them. The earlier the application 
is made the better ; the best time is just after the aphi- 
des have hatched from tlie eggs in spring. 




FIG. 35. 



APPLE APHIS. 

magnified. 



Much 



THE CAIh'KERWORM 



79 



The Cankerworm 

A 7iiso2)teryx ^pometavia 

Apple orctiards are occasionally infested in spring by 
a looping caterpillar, or ^^ measuring worm," that feeds 
npon the parenchyma of the leaf, leaving the network 
of veins, so that the foliage looks brown and scorched. 
These are cankerworm s, of which, according to Dr. 
Riley's observations, we have two distinct species. But 
both are similar in habits and injuries, and for the 
present purpose only one will be discussed. This is 
called the fall cankerworm. 

If, during the winter or early spring months, one 
examines the branches of apple trees in orchards where 
this insect has been at 
work, he will find com- 
pact masses of a hun- 
dred or more small, 
cylindrical eggs like 
that shown at e, Fig. 36. 
About the time the 
leaves begin to come 
out, these eggs hatch 
into small, looping cat- 
erpillars that feed upon 
the foliao"e. They con- i^i<^- ^e. cankekwokm. a, male moth; 

,. ^ *^T 1 5, female moth: e, eggs:/, larva; i/, pupa. 

tinue feeding and grow- 
ing for several weeks, when they become full-grown, 
and look like /, Fig. 36. They are about an inch long, 
quite slender, and vary from a greenish-yellow to a dark 
brown color. The cankerworm then either crawls down 
the tree to the ground, or lets itself down, spider-like, 
on a silken thread. There it burrows into the soil three 
or four inches, where it spins a silken cocoon, within 
which it changes to the pupal or chrysalis state (^), re- 
maining in this condition until autumn, when it emerges 
as a moth. 




80 IITSECTS ATsTD INSECTICIDES 

The two sexes of these cankerworm moths differ 
greatly. The male [a) has large, well-developed wings, 
while the female {b) is wingless. The latter is of an 
ashy gray color. When she emerges from the chrysalis 
state she crawls to the base of the tree, and ascends the 
trunk some distance. Here the male finds her, and after 
mating she begins the deposition of eggs. These are 
placed on the twigs or branches of the tree. 

The other cankerworm {Anisopteryx vernatct) is 
similar to this in habits, but most of the moths appear in 
the spring rather than autumn. Hence it is commonly 
called the spring cankerworm. 

Besides apple, these insects feed upon elm, cherry, 
plum and various other fruit and shade trees. 

Remedies. — There are various natural enemies 
that prey upon these cankerworms ; these include both 
birds and predaceous or parasitic insects. The simplest 
artificial remedy is to spray the trees, soon after the 
worms hatch, with Paris green or London purple — a 
pound to two hundred gallons of water, or stronger if 
lime is added. Or the ascent of the egg-laying moths 
may be prevented by applying tar, or printer's ink, or 
some such substance, about the base of the tree — putting 
it on a band of paper if there is fear of injuring the tree 
by applying it directly to the bark. There are also vari- 
ous collars of metal that are manufactured to j^lace 
around the tree and prevent the moths going up. But 
spraying is simpler and more effectual than any of these. 



THE APPLE TREE TENT CATERPILLAR 



81 



The Apple=tree Tent Caterpillar 

CUsiocampa americana 

One often finds in May or June, on the limbs of 
apple arid wild cherry trees, con.pact silken nests, or 
tents, containing a considerable number of handsome 
caterpillars. These are the insects which have been 







FIG. 37. TENT CATERPILLAR. 

a, 6, larva; c, eggs, with covering removed; r?, cocoon. 

known for many years as tent caterpillars. The eggs 
are deposited during July, in compact masses of two or 
three hundred each, upon the twigs, as shown at c, Fig. 
37. After they are laid the parent motli covers them 
with a viscid liquid, which dries into a sort of varnish 
that completely coats them. The insect remains in this 
6 



82 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

egg state from July until the following spring, when the 
little caterpillars emerge from the eggs and begin feed- 
ing upon the tender foliage of the buds about them. In 
a few days they begin to make a silken tent,, utilizing 
generally, for this purpose, a fork of the branch. As 
time goes on the nest is enlarged. The caterpillars 
retire to the tent at night, and during cold and wet 
weather, and when not feeding. They have regular 
times for their meals, leaving and returning to the nest 
in processions. They become full-grown in about six 
weeks, being extremely voracious during the latter part 
of their development. They are then nearly two inches 
long, with a hairy body ornamented with a distinct 
white stripe along the middle of the back, on each side 
of which are numerous short, yellow, longitudinal lines, 
rather irregularly arranged. The sides are partially 
covered with paler lines, spotted and streaked with blue, 
while the lower surface of the body is black. The full- 
grown caterpillar is represented at a and 5, Fig. 37. 

Most of the caterpillars leave the tree where their 
nest is, as fast as they become full-grown, and crawl 

about in search of a suit- 
able shelter to jnipate in. 
Having found this — be- 
neath a board, or in the • 
cracks of a fence — they 
spin an oval, silken cocoon 

FIG. 38. MOTH OF TENT CATERPILLAR. /^\ VClloW wllCU COUl- 

pleted, within which they change to tlie pupal or clirys- 
alis state. In two or three weeks another change takes 
place, and from the cocoons come forth reddish-brown 
moths, the females of the size and form represented at 
Fig. 38. These moths pair and in a short time deposit 
the clusters of eggs, after which they soon die. Thus 
there is but one brood each season. 

Remedies. — It is usually easy to destroy the nests 
of this insect, either by cutting and burning the infested 




THE LESSER APPLE LEAF ROLLER 



83 



branch, or using a torch made by saturating a piece of 
clotli, tied to the end of a stick, with kerosene. In 
either case the operation should be performed early in 
the morning, before the insects have left the tent, or in 
the evening after they have returned. Spraying witli 
Paris green is also an effectual remedy. There are ,cer- 
tain parasites preying upon this insect that aid greatly 
in keeping it in check. 

The Lesser Apple=leaf Roller 

Teras miniita 

This is a greenish-yellow, slightly hairy worm, 
ab'out half an inch long, affecting the young leaves of 
the terminal twigs, with which the insect forms a pro- 
tective case. It is especially injurious in nurseries and 
young orchards. 

This species is remarkable in that two of the three 
broods of moths which appear during the year are of a 
bright orange color, while 
those of the third brood are 
reddish-gray. It is an ex- 
ample of what naturalists 
call dimorphism. 

The eggs are laid in 
the spring on the unfolding 
leaves of apple, cranberry, 
whortleberry and possibly 
other plants, the larvae soon 
hatching to devour the ten- 
der foliage, some of which 
they roll into a protective covering. Here they continue 
feeding for about a month, when they pupate within the 
folded leaves, and a week or so later emerge as small, 
orange-yellow moths. These moths lay eggs for another 
brood of larvae, the images from which appear in August, 




FIG. 39. LESSER LEAF ROLLER. 

a, larva; 6, pupa; c, moth; d, roUed 
leaf. 



84 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



being also of the same orange color. These in turn lay 
eggs for a third brood of worms, which develop during 
September, and emerge during October as glistening red- 
dish-gray moths, which pass the winter in rubbish heaps, 
fence corners and similar places of concealment, and 
de^Dosit eggs on the unfolding leaves of the various food 
plants of the larva the following spring. Thus this 
remarkable cycle of insect life is completed. 

Remedies. — In fruiting orchards that are regularly 
sprayed with the arsenites to prevent codling moth in- 
jury, this insect is not likely to prove troublesome, but 
in nurseries and young orchards it is frequently quite 
destructive. Spraying with the arsenites is probably as 
promising as any general remedy in these cases, though 
the experience of nurserymen has shown that on young 
nursery stock the insect may advantageously be destroyed 
by hiring boys to crush the larvae within their cases. 

The Yellow=necked Apple=tree Caterpillar 

Datana mmisti^a 
During the latter part of summer the orchardist 
occasionally finds one or more limbs of his apple trees 




FIG. 40. YELLOW-NECKED CATERPILLAR. 

a, larva; h, moth; c, eggs; cJ, magnified egg. 

entirely denuded of their foliage by a troop of large, 
striped caterpillars, like the one shown at Fig. 40, a. 
These are the progeny of a set of eggs (c, d) laid during 



THE LEAF CRUMPLER 85 

June or July by a large moth (b) with a chestnut-brown 
thorax, and light-brown wings striped with brown of a 
darker shade. The very young larvae feed only upon the 
parenchyma of the leaf, leaving a network of bare veins, 
but they soon grow large enough to eat veins and all. 
They are gregarious, feeding together and denuding the 
limb as they go. When at rest or alarmed they assume 
the peculiar position shown in the figure. They become 
full-grown in about six weeks, when they descend to the 
ground and burrow into the soil three or four inches, 
where they change to the pupal state. They remain in 
this condition until the following summer, when they 
emerge again as moths. Consequently there is but one 
brood a year. 

Remedies. — Birds and various insect enemies prey 
upon this caterpillar to such an extent that it rarely be- 
comes injurioas. When it does, however, it may easily 
be destroyed by spraying the infested trees with Paris 
green in water mixture, or by cutting and burning the 
twigs on which the larvae are feeding. 

The Leaf Grumpier 

Pliycis indigenella 

One often finds during the winter months upon the 
twigs of various fruit trees, masses of dry, brown leaves 
that, when pulled apart, are seen to surround a long, 
tubular, horn-like case. If one of these cases be care- 
fully cut open it will be found to contain a brownish 
worm or caterpillar, about half an inch long. This in- 
sect is the leaf crumpler, and it often becomes one of 
the most injurious of orchard pests. 

The adult insect is a small grayish moth (Fig. 41, 
d) that appears during June or July, and deposits eggs 
on the various trees that serve as food plants for the 
larvae. These include the apple, quince, and possibly the 
peach, as well as both the wild and cultivated varieties 



86 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



of the cherry, plum, and crab apple. From these eggs 
there soon hatch small, brownish worms that construct 
tubular, silken cases (a) within which they remain con- 
cealed when not eating. As they grow larger they draw 
about the openings of their abodes many partially eaten 
leaves, so that by autumn there is quite a bunch sur- 
rounding each case (b). At the approach of cold weatlier 
the cases are attached to the twigs Dy means of silken 
threads, the larvae frequently gnawing away the tender 
bark to insure a firm hold; and thus the winter is passed. 




FIG. 41. LEAF CRTJMPLER. 

a. larval case; b, larval case with dead leaves; c, front part of larva; 
d, moth, magnified. 

As soon in spring as the leaves begin to appear, the larvae 
attack them, frequently eating out the flower buds as 
well. They continue feeding and growing until some 
time in June, when they become pupse, pupating within 
the cases. About a fortnight later the moths emerge, 
and thus the life cycle is completed. 



THE APPLE LEAF SKELETOITIZEIl 



87 



There are several species of parasites that prey upon 
the leaf crumpler, which greatly assist in keeping it in 
check. 

Remedies. — In young orchards the larval cases 
are easily picked off during the winter. They may be 
burned, or what is probably better, carried to a consid- 
erable distance from their food plants and left on the 
ground, thus allowing the parasites to develop and 
escape. The insect is also liable to destruction by spray- 
ing with Paris green or London purple, and may easily 
be held in check in this way. Where orchards are 
sprayed for the codling moth the leaf crumplers present 
will also largely be destroyed. 



The Apple=leaf Skeletonizer 

Pempelia hammondi 

This is a brownish or greenish larva, one-half inch 
long, with short, scattered hairs upon its body, which 
spins a web upon the upper 
surface of the leaf, and eats 
the parenchyma, giving the 
foliage a scorched apjiear- 
ance. It is frequently very 
destructive to apples, espe- 
cially to young trees, either 
in the orchard or nursery. 

The life history of this 
insect may be briefly sum- 
marized as follows : The 
small jDurplisli moths (Fig. 
42, d)y having two light 
bands upon the front wings, fig. 42. leaf skeletonizer. 

and expanding scarcely half «» larva; h, part of back, magnl- 
1 T ,1 • 1 fied to show markings; c, head 

an inch, lay their eggs, prob- ^^^^ f,.^,^, ^^.^ of larva, magni- 
ably, on the leaves or tender fied; (/, moth, magnified. 




88 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

twigs of the apple, late in spring, or early in summer. 
The larvae soon hatch and begin to eat the parenchyma 
of the leaves, and as they grow older they sj)in a slight 
protective silken web on the upper surface of the leaf, 
beneath which they continue their destructive work. 
When full-grown (a) they vary from an olive or. pale 
green color to brown, are about half an inch long, and 
have four black shinmg tubercles on the back, just be- 
hind the head. About midsummer these larvae pupate 
in slight cocoons, formed usually on the leaf, and two 
weeks later the moths emerge. Eggs are laid by these 
for the second brood of larvae, which form cocoons before 
winter sets in, and hibernate as pupge, the moths from 
them emerging the following spring. 

This species is very irregular in its development, it 
being easy to find larvae of nearly all ages almost any 
time during the season. The second brood is usually 
much more numerous than the first, and consequently 
the injury is most noticeable in September and October. 

Remedies. — Like so many other orchard insects, 
this pest may be destroyed by spraying with the arsenites 
— tliree or four ounces of Paris green, or London purple, 
to fifty gallons of water. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Codling Moth or Apple Worm 

Carpocapsa pomonella 

This is the most generally injurious apple insect, 
and is probably known wherever the fruit is grown. 
The small, chocolate moth (Fig. 43, g,f) deposits its 
eggs in spring in the blossom end of the young apple (h) 
before the latter has turned down on its stem. From 
the egg there hatches a minute worm or caterpillar, 
which nibbles at the skin of the fruit and eats its way 
toward the core. Here it continues feeding as the apple 



THE CODLING MOTH OR APPLE WORM 



89 



develops, increasing in size, until at the end of three or 
four weeks it is about three-fourths of an inch long, and 
appears as represented at e. It has now finished its 
caterpillar growth and, leaving the apple, finds some 
crevice in the bark where it spins a rather slight silken 
cocoon, in which it changes to a pupa. It remains in 
this condition about 
a fortnight, when it 
emerges as a moth 
like the one by 
which the original 
egg was laid. Thus 
the life cycle is com- 
pleted. There are 
at least two broods 
in a season in all but 
the most northern 
localities. 

Remedy. — 
The best remedy for 
this insect is that 

„ . • XT 4.1 ^i^- ^3- CODLING MOTH, a, injured apple; 

01 spraying with the &, place where egg is laid; c, larva; rf, pupa; 
arseniteS — Paris *> cocoon ; gj, moth ; li, head of larva, 

green or London purple — in spring, soon after the blos- 
soms have fallen off, when the apples are from the size 
of a pea to that of a hickory nut, and before they have 
turned downward on their stems. A second application, 
ten days or two weeks after the first, is generally advis- 
able. The poisons may be used in the proportion of one 
]:)ound to two hundred and fifty gallons of water, or bet- 
ter, combined with the Bordeaux mixture. The spray- 
ing should be done with some kind of spraying jiump 
and nozzle. 

Besides destroying the codling moth, spraying at 
the times indicated will largely prevent the injuries of 
the various leaf-eating caterpillars and the plum and 
apple curculios. 




90 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

The Apple Maggot 

Trypeta pomonella 

The injury of this insect is at once distinguished 
from that of the codling moth by the fact that while the 
latter is largely confined to the region of tlie core, the 
apple maggot feeds indiscriminately through the j)iilp of 
the fruit, burrowing m every direction. The larvae 
themselves are also different, that of the codling moth 
having six legs, while the apple maggot is footless. 

The adult of the apple maggot is a two-winged fly 
that aj^pears early in summer and deposits eggs in the 
partially grown apples. These eggs are inserted, one in 
a place, through the skin of the fruit. In a few days 
they hatch into maggots, that tunnel the fruit in all 
directions, becoming full-grown in five or six weeks, 
when they are whitish or greenish white, and about a 
quarter of an inch long. They then leave the fruit, and 
generally go into the soil an inch or less, where they 
change to the pupal state. They remain in this condi- 
tion until the following summer, when they emerge as 
flies again. 

Remedies. — This insect is an exceedingly difficult 
pest to contend with. Fortunately, as yet, it is only 
seriously injurious in comparatively few States. As a 
rule, having, however, many exceptions, it seems to be 
more liable to infest early than late varieties of apples. 
The only thorough -going remedy is that of destroying 
infested fruit, especially windfalls. Observations made 
in Maine by Professor Harvey show that the flies travel 
little from tree to tree, or orchard to orchard, so that 
*Hhe checking of the pest is largely an individual mat- 
ter, to be worked out independently in each orchard." 
Unfortunately this msect cannot be destroyed by spraying. 



92 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 




FIG. 44. APPLE CURCULIO. 
Magnified. 



The Apple Curculio 

Anthonomous quadrigibus 

This insect in its adult state is represented magni- 
fied at Fig. 44, c showing a back view and b a side view, 
while the natural size is represented by the small figure 

a at the left of h. This is 
a beetle related to the plum 
curculio but having a longer 
snout. It is dull brown in 
color and has four tubercles, 
or humps, on the hinder por- 
tion of its back. Before the 
general cultivation of the 
improved varieties of apple, 
it bred in wild crabs and 
haws. The adult beetles 
drill holes in young apples, both for food and the depo- 
sition of eggs. The latter are laid at the bottom of the 
cavity, and soon hatch into grubs or larvae that feed upon 
the pulp of the fruit. 
They usually penetrate 
to the core, where they 
continue feeding four or 
five weeks. They then 
become full-grown as 
larvae, and appear when 
ma2fnified like ¥m. 45, b, ^ ® 

, . „ ,, ° , .,. . FIG. 45. APPLE CURCULIO. a, pupa ; 

bemg footless, whitish &, larva. Magnified. 

grubs. The larva pupates within the cavity of the apple 
where it has developed, the pupa being rej^resented, 
magnified, at Fig. 45, a, and two or three weeks later it 
again changes, this time emerging as a perfect beetle, 
which gnaws its way out through the fruit. There is 
but one brood each year, the insect hibernating in the 




OTHER APPLE Il^^SECTS 93 

beetle state. The fruit attacked by this and other cur- 
culios becomes dwarfed, gnarly and ill-shapen, as shown 
in Plate VI. 

Remedies. — The feeding and egg-laying habits of 
t]ie adult of this insect render it liable to destruction by 
poisoning. Consequently spraying with the arsenites, 
as for the codling moth, appears to be a sufficient 
remedy. 

Other Apple Insects 

The apple is subject to attack by many insects be- 
sides those discussed in the foregoing pages, which, how- 
ever, include the most injurious pests. The trunk and 
branches are occasionally infested by the scurfy bark 
louse (which will be found described on a later page as a 
pear insect) ; the leaves are sometimes eaten by various 
caterpillars beside those mentioned, and the fruit is at- 
tacked by the plum curculio as well as by the three 
species we have discussed. But the treatment recom- 
mended will keep in check not only the insects included 
in our list, but also nearly, if not quite, all of these 
various other pests. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE PEAR 



INJURING THE TRUNK 

The Pear=tree Borer 

Aegeria pyri 

The adult of this insect is a small, clear-winged moth, 
purplish or bluish black in color, and having three pretty 
golden-yellow bands across the abdomen. Its eggs are 
deposited upon the bark of the trunk, and the larvae feed 
upon the inner bark or sapwood. The latter are very 
similar to the grubs of the peach-tree borer, but are con- 
siderably smaller. When full-grown they gnaw almost 
through the outer bark, leaving an extremely thin layer 
to protect them, and then change to the chrysalis state 
within the burrow. A short time afterwards the chrysa- 
lis wriggles through the burrow to the outer membra- 
nous bark, through which it pushes its front end. The 
fully developed moth then crawls out of the chrysalis, 
and, after drying its wings, flies away in search of com- 
panions and the nectar of flowers upon which it feeds. 

Remedies. — This insept is rarely present in injuri- 
ous numbers, and consequently usually requires little or 
no attention. The larvae are said to throw out fine, saw- 
dust-like castings, by which their presence may be de- 
tected. When this happens they shonld be carefully cut 
out with a sharp knife. Painting the bark with the 
soft soap and carbolic acid mixture mentioned on Page 
64 is also recommended. 

94 



THE SAi^ JOSE -SCALE 95 

INJURING THE BRANCHES 

The Scurfy Bark Louse 

Cliionaspis furfiirus 

During the winter months the bark of pear and 
apple trees is frequently more or less coyered by small, 
flattened, whitish, oval scales, beneath which are numer- 
ous minute purple eggs. These are the scales of the 
female scurfy bark louse, an insect that seems to be 
more destructive in the Southern and Central States 
than at the North. It is probably a native of America, 
having been known to the earliest American entomolo- 
gists, and is supposed to have fed on wild crab apples 
before the introduction of improved fruit trees. The 
scales of the male louse are much narrower than those 
of the female. 

During May or June the eggs beneath these scales 
hatch into small purplish or reddish-brown lice, that 
crawl about over the bark for a few days, and finally 
insert their tiny beaks to suck the sap. Having thus 
fixed themselves they gradually develop, until by fall 
the females have become very broad and flat. The eggs 
are deposited beneath the scale, and remain in this posi- 
tion until the following spring. 

Remedies. — The treatment recommended on a 
previous page (p. 69) for the oyster-shell bark louse, is 
equally applicable to the present species. 

The San Jose Scale 

Aspidiotus perniciosus 

This insect is related to the common oyster-shell 
bark louse, but can at once be distinguished from the 
latter by the characteristic round scale — as shown at J, 
Fig. 46. 



96 



INSECTS AKD INSECTICIDES 



It infests practically all kinds of deciduous fruit 
trees and if unmolested is liable to kill them. It was 
introduced into California from Chile about 1870, since 
when it has sjjread over' a large portion of the Pacific 




FIG. 46. SAN JOSE SCALE. 

a, pear, moderately infested*— natural size; b, female scale— enlarged. 

slope; and has lately appeared in the Eastern States, 
where it threatens to do much damage. 

Mr. L. 0. Howard describes the San Jose scale as 
^'perfectly round, or at most very slightly elongated or 
irregular. It is flat, pressed close" to the bark, resem- 



THE SAN JOSE SCALE 9? 

bles the bark of tlie twigs in color, and wlien fully grown 
is about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. At or near 
the middle of each scale is a small, round, slightly elon- 
gated black point ; or this point may sometimes appear 
yellowish. When occurring upon the bark of the twigs 
or leaves and in large numbers, the scales lie close to 
each other, frequently overlapping, and are at such 
times difficult to distinguish without a magnifying glass. 
The general appear- 
ance which they pre- 
sent is of a grayish, 
very slightly rough- 
ened scurfy dej)osit 
(Fig. 47). The nat- 
ural rich reddish 
color of the limbs of 
the peach and apple 
is quite obscured 
when these trees are 
thickly infested, and 
they have then every 
appearance of being 
coated with lime or 
ashes. When the 
scaJes are crusneu. by fig. 47. san josb scale. Apple branch, 

scraping, a yellowish with scales in si^zt— natural size; en- 
• 1 T •-! •n larged scales above, at left. 

Oily liquid will ap- 
pear, resulting from the crushing of the soft yellow 
insects beneatli the scales, and this will at once indicate 
to one who is not familiar with their appearance the 
existence of healthy living scales on the trees." 

The young scale lice come out from beneath the 
female scales, in spring, soon after the unfolding of the 
leaves. They are minute yellowish creatures, resembling 
Fig. 48 when highly magnified ; they crawl about over 
the bark a short time, and finally fasten themselves to 
7 




98 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



it, generally on the new growth, where they secrete a 
scale and there develop. Some of them mature into 
little two-winged creatures, resembling, when magnified, 
Fig. 50 ; these are the males ; others develop into fe- 
males, which do not become winged but remain on the 
bark in a fixed position. In the bodies of these the 
young are produced, as shown in Fig. 49. 

When the San Jose scale occurs upon older trees, it 
is most likely to be found on the twigs and smaller 




FIG. 48. SAN JOSE SCALE, a, young larva— greatly enlarged; 6, an- 
tenna of same— stiU more enlarged. 

limbs, but upon young trees it may occur over the whole 
surface. But it does not confine its attacks to the bark, 
for the leaves and fruit are often infested; upon the 
latter there is a very characteristic purplish ring around 
each scale. These rings are well illustrated in Fig. 46. 
"Upon the leaves the insects have a tendency to collect 



THE SAI^ JOSE SCALE 



99 



along the midrib, on the upper side of the leaf, in one 
or more quite regular rows, and also to some extent along 
the side ribs. The infested leaves turn brown, but do 
not have a tendency to fall as a result of the damage." 

This pest is most likely to be introduced into new 
localities upon nursery stock imported from infested 
regions. This is believed to be the way in which it was 




FIG. 49. SAN JOSE SCALE. 

c, adult female containing young— greatly enlarged; d, anal fringe of 
same— still more enlarged. 

first brought to the Eastern States. It is also likely to 
be carried upon fruit sent to market. In a given local- 
ity the insects are most likely to be carried from tree to 
tree and orchard to orchard by the young lice crawling 
upon insects and birds and then crawling otf after they 
have lit upon other trees. They may also be blown 
about by the wind. 



100 



INSECTS a:n^d ii^secticides 



The young lice are easily destroyed by spraying with 
kerosene emulsion. But in cases where the insect is 
first introduced to a new locality, the infested trees 
should be burned to check the outbreak. 

Concerning this, Mr. L. 0. Howard, entomologist to 
the United States Department of Agriculture, says: '^The 
principal mode of spread is by commerce in nursery stock, 
cuttings and fruit. The time will come in the immedi- 




FIG. 50. SAN JOSE SCALE. Male adult— greatly enlarged. 

ate future when some kind of quarantine regulations will 
have to be established by States or by large fruit-growing 
districts. Should this species already have obtained the 
firm foothold in the East which we suspect, Xew York, 
Michigan and other States in which the pomological 
interests are great, should immediatel}^, by act of legis- 
lature, establish quarantine regulations similar to those 
in force at the present time in the State of California. 
In the meantime no orchardist should admit a single 



THE PEAR TEEE SLUG 101 

young fruit tree, or a single cutting, or a single bud, 
from a distance into his orchard, without first carefully 
examining it and satisfying himself absolutely that it 
does not carry a single specimen of the San Jose scale. 
If this plan is adopted by every one interested, and with- 
out exception, the rate of spread of the species can be 
limited to the natural spread by crawling, by winds, and 
by the aid of other insects and birds. 

" We wish particularly to impress upon the minds 
of fruit growers that as soon as this insect is found to 
occur in an orchard the most strenuous measures must 
be taken to stamp it out. ]N"o halfway measures will 
suffice. The individual must remember that not only 
are his own interests vitally at stake, but those of the 
entire community in which he resides. Trees badly in- 
fested should be instantly burned, as previously stated. 
The individual may think that he cannot bear the loss, 
but the loss in consequence of the slightest neglect will 
be much greater. The fact, too, that there is a commu- 
nity of interests among fruit growers in this matter must 
not be lost sight of. Fruit growers must be mutually 
helpful in an emergency like this." 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Pear=tree Slug 

Selandria cerasi 

The leaves of pear, cherry, quince and plum trees 
are frequently attacked during June and July by a green- 
ish-black, slimy slug, that eats the parenchyma off the 
upper surface. This is the pear or cherry slug. It orig- 
inates from eggs laid early in June, in the leaf, by a four- 
winged black fly (shown slightly magnified at Fig. 51). 
The eggs hatch about two weeks after they are deposited, 
and the larvae become full-grown in four or five weeks. 
They are then nearly half an inch long, and of the form 



102 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

represented at Fig. 51. They now shed their slimy skins, 
appearing in a clean yellow suit that is not sticky, and 
shortly afterwards leave the tree. Having reached the 
ground they enter the soil two or three inches, and form 
an oval cavity in the earth, which they line with a glossy 
secretion. The larval skin is now cast, and the insect 
becomes a pupa. About a fortnight later it again 
changes, this time to a four-winged fly, that escapes to 
continue the propagation of the species. There are two 




FIG. 51. PEAR-TREE SLUG. 

broods each season in the Northern States, the first 
brood of larvae appearing in June and the second in 
August. The winter is passed in the cocoons. 

Remedies. — This pear slug is very easy to destroy, 
and should be checked as soon after it begins operations 
as possible. Spraying with the arsenites, or pyrethrum, 
or hellebore, is a simple and effectual remedy. Or these 
substances may be dusted on with a powder bellows. 

The Pear=leaf Mite 

Phytoptus pyri 

The leaves of the pear are sometimes noticed in 
spring to have small reddish spots upon their upper sur- 
face. As the season advances these spots become darker 
colored, and finally appear almost black, the tissues of 
the leaf where they are being dry and dead. This dis- 
ease is called the pear-leaf blister and is caused by the 
pear-leaf mite, an extremely minute creature, related to 
the red spider found in greenhouses. 




THE PEAR LEAF MITE 103 

Mr. M. V. Slingerland describes in detail the symp- 
toms of the malady as follows: ^^Tlie disease appears 
on the pear leaves before they are fully expanded from 
the bud in spring, in the form of red blister-like spots an 
eighth of an inch or more in diameter. During this red 
stage of the disease the spots are more conspicuous on 
the upper surface of the leaves. About June first the 
spots gradually change to a green color iiardly distin- 
guishable from the unaffected portions of the leaf ; this 
change takes 
place on the lower 
side, of the leaf 
first, and the spots 
may thus be red 
above and green 
below. In this 
green stage, which fig. 52. pear-leaf mite. Magnified. 

seems to have been overlooked, the badly diseased leaves 
present a slightly thicker, corky appearance ; otherwise 
the disease is not readily apparent, especially where not 
severe. This green stage lasts about a week or ten days, 
and about June fifteenth the spots may be found chang- 
ing to a dark brown color, beginning on the lower side 
of the leaf. The tissue of the diseased parts or spots 
then presents a dead, dry, brown or black, corky appear- 
ance. The spots are also more conspicuous on the lower 
side, and remain unchanged until the leaves fall in the 
autumn. They occur either singly, scattered over the 
surface of the leaves, or often coalesce, forming large 
blotches which sometimes involve a large portion of the 
leaf." 

The authors of this mischief are extremely minute 
eight-legged mites which resemble when magnified Fig. 
52. Mr. Slingerland who has studied the species most 
carefully thus describes its life history : "The exceed- 
ingly minute oval grayish eggs are laid by the females in 



THE PEAR LEAF MITE 105 

the spring within the galls that they have formed, and 
here the young are hatched. How long they remain 
within the gall of their parent has not been ascertained. 
But sooner or later they escape through the opening in 



/ 



FIG. 53. PORTION OF LOWER SIDE OF INFESTED LEAF, SHOWING 
GALLS CONSIDERABLY MAGNIFIED. 

it, and seeking the healthy part of a leaf, or more often 
crawling to the tenderer leaves of the new growth, they 
work their way into the tissue, and new galls are thus 
started. In this manner the galls on a tree are often 
rapidly multiplied during the summer. The mites live 



106 



IN^SECTS Ai^D INSECTICIDES 



within the galls, feeding upon the plant cells, until the 
drying of the leaves in the autumn. They then leave 
the galls through the openings and migrate to the winter 
buds at or near the ends of the twigs. Hei-e they w^ork 
g their way beneath the 

two or three outer 
scales of the buds 
where they remain 
during the winter. 
Fifteen or twenty 
may often be found 

FIG. 54. SECTION OF LEAF SHOWING GALL ^ ^ ■ n i , n 

IN RED STAGE, n n, nomual leaf; o, open- "I^^^er a Smgle bud 
ingof gaUje, eggs. (After Sorauer.) SCalc. In this JDOsi- 

tion they are ready for business in the spring as soon as 
growth begins ; and they doubtless do get to work early, 
for their red galls are already conspicuous before the 
leaves get unrolled. 

**The mites instinctively migrate from the leaves as 
soon as the latter become dry. Whenever branches were 





FIG. 55. SECTION OF TEE LEAF SHOWING STKUCTURE OF GALL IN 
AUTUMN, g, gaU; n, iiornial leaf ; o, opening of gall. 

brought into the insectary, as soon as the leaves began 
to dry the mites left them and gathered in great num- 
bers in the buds. It is impossible to accurately estimate 
the number of mites that may live in the galls on a single 
leaf. Sections of galls made while in their red stage 
would seldom cut through more than two or three mites ; 
but sections of the brown galls often showed four or five 
times as many. Thus on a badly infested leaf there is 
without doubt at least a thousand of the mites." 



THE PEAR TREE PSYLLA 107 

Remedies. — Until recently tMs pest has been diffi- 
cult to fight. So long as it remains in the tissues of tlie 
leaves it is beyond the reach of insecticides, and as it 
deserts the leaves before they fall, gathering and burning 
them in autumn will do little or no good. It has lately 
been demonstrated by Mr. Slingerland, however, that 
the pest may be successfully kept in check by a single 
spraying in winter with kerosene emulsion diluted with 
five to seven parts of water. The trees should be 
thoroughly treated. 

The Pear = tree Psylla 

Psylla pyricola 

This is an extremely minute insect, which during 
recent years has done great damage to pear orchards in 
several Eastern States. It was apparently introduced 
into Connecticut early in the present i 
century ; since then it has spread west 
to Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, south 
to New York and New Jersey, and 
probably over much of New England, ,j«^^, ^ 
though here it has been reported as de- ^ i^Ti™ W » 
structive only in Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. 

The adult pear psylla is a small. 
Jumping louse about one-tenth of an 
inch long, resembling, when magnified, fig. 56. pear 
Fig. 56. It has four nearly transparent psylla. Magnified, 
wings, and is reddish with transverse dark stripes on 
the abdomen. There are two distinct forms. The sum- 
mer broods are much lighter in color than the brood 
which passes through the winter. This difference is so 
great that the two forms were considered distinct species 
until the life history was carefully worked out by Mr. 
M. V. Slingerland. 




108 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

The dark form passes through the winter in some 
sheltered situation about the tree, such as heneath loose 
bark or in the crevices between the branches. In early 
spring they come forth from their hiding places and de- 
posit their eggs about the buds and on rough bark. 
These eggs are very small, and of the extraordinary form 
represented in Fig. 57. When first deposited they are 
yellowish, but turn dark soon afterwards. The eggs 
hatch ill three or four weeks, the time depending Jargely 
on weather conditions. The young psyllas, which during 
their immature stages are called nymphs, crawl to the 
stalks of the unfolding leaves, in which they insert their 
tiny beaks to suck out the sap. They grow rapidly, 
occasionally molting or shedding their skins to provide 
for their increase in size, and in the course of a month 
become mature. 

The first summer brood thus developed deposits 
eggs on the undersides of the leaves. These eggs batch 
ten days later, and mature in about 
three weeks. The insects of the sec- 
ond brood suck the sap from the 
FIG. 57. EGG. Magnified. Jeavcs. There are several of these 
summer broods, the number varying with the locality 
and length of season. In early autumn the dark, hiber- 
nating winter form is developed. 

The sap which passes through the bodies of these 
little creatures is ejected on the foliage, and forms the 
so-called ^'honeydew." Where the insects are very 
numerous this becomes very abundant, falling in show- 
ers when the branches are disturbed. After the honey- 
dew has been present for some time a peculiar black 
fungus develops upon it, and gives the tree a sooty 
appearance. 

Mr. Slingerland makes the following statement con- 
cerning the indications of the presence of the pest : 
"Among the first indications that pear growers, who 




THE PEAR MIDGE 109 

suffered from this pest in 1891, had of its presence, was 
the noticeably lessened vitality of their trees early in the 
season. Old trees, especially, pnt forth but little new 
growth. Where new growth started, in many cases the 
shoots began to droop and wither in May, as if from a 
loss of sap. A little later whole trees put on a sickly 
appearance ; the leaves turned yellow and the fruit grew 
but little. By midsummer nearly all the leaves and 
half -formed fruit fell from many trees." 

Remedies. — This insect can be destroyed by spray- 
ing in spring, after the eggs hatch out and before the 
first brood matures, with kerosene emulsion diluted with 
twenty-five parts of water. This is a simple and satis- 
factory remedy ; if applied soon after a shower has 
washed off much of the honeydew, it is more effective. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Pear Hidge 

Diplosis pyrivora 

This insect appears to have been introduced into 
America about 1877, being first noticed in Connecticut. 
It has since spread into a number of neighboring States, 
and has become in many localities the most destructive 
enemy of the pear. The adult is a small mosquito-like 
grayish fly (Fig. 59, c) having a slender body, long legs, 
and a long ovipositor projecting from the end of the 
abdomen. These flies appear in the pear orchard in 
early spring, even before the blossoms open, and con- 
tinue present about ten days. As soon as the blossoms 
open sufficiently for the insect to insert its ovipositor, 
the eggs — often nearly a dozen in number — are depos- 
ited inside the blossom envelopes. Three or four days 
later the eggs hatch into little maggots which enter the 
open ovary of the embryo fruit, where they feed upon 
the growing tissues, gnawing and rasping it in such a 



110 



INSECTS AXD INSECTICIDES 



manner as- to destroy the core and seeds, and cause the 
fruits to become dwarfed and deformed. Such pears are 
ill-shajDcn in outer appearance, as shown in the series 
represented in Fig. 58. The midge maggots at first are 
whitish in color, but they soon become orange or reddish. 
They become full-grown early in summer ; they are then 
^^about one-sixth of an inch in length, pointed towards 
each extremity, yellow in color, with a brown, horny 
breastbone on the underside just behind the head. 




FIG. 58. PEAR MIDGE INJURY, a, Uninjured yonng pear; b, infested 
pear cut open to show midge larvae; c, d, e,f, outUnes of infested 
fruits. 

The segments of the body are well marked, and when 
remoYcd from the infested fruit they move about quite 
rapidly, bending themselves quite double by drawing the 
tail forward until it touches the head, and then jerking 
or springing upward and outward several inches at a 
time. When they are full-grow^n they remain in the 
fruit until there comes a rain, which causes a rapid 
decay and a cracking open of the infested fruit. 
Through the oiDcnings so made they emerge and drop to 
the ground."* They then enter the soil an inch or two 



*J. B. Smith. 



THE PEAR MIDGE 



111 



where somewliat later they make oyal cocoons of silk 
mixed with particles of earth or sand ; in these cocoons 
they remain apparently unchanged until the following 
spring when they become pupae and shortly afterwards 
again change to adult flies. 

These midges appear to have decided preferences 
among varieties of pears, the Lawrence being the favorite. 

Remedies. — The only stage at which this insect is 
liable to injury without detriment to the trees is when 
the larvae are in the ground. Professor J. B. Smith of 





FIG. 59. PEAR MIDGE, a, larva ; 6, piipa ; c, parent fly. Magnified. 

New Jersey has found that they then can be destroyed to 
advantage by the application of kainit, applied about tlie 
middle of June to the ground beneath the trees, at the 
rate of 1000 pounds to the acre. This is dissolved by 
the soil moisture and causes the death of the naked 
midge larvae. In case an orchard is generally infested 
Professor Smith recommends the following practice : 
''Cultivate as usual, or if the orchard is in grass or 
clover, plow under after June 15th, as soon as may be. 
Top-dress with kainit, 1,000 pounds to the acre, to 



112 INSECTS AND IKSECTICIDES 

benefit trees as well as to kill insects. As soon as proper, 
say early in August, sow crimson clover. This will use 
up the potash not required by the fruit trees, and will 
store nitrogen, as well as occupy the ground. Early in 
the following spring turn this sod under as deeply as 
may be proper. It should be done before the pear buds 
are developed, in order to head off and destroy any 
midges then in the pupal state near the surface of the 
soil." 

The Codling Moth and Plum Curculio 

In most regions these pests are the worst insect 
enemies of the fruit of the pear. To the first is due the 
^^worminess" that spoils so large a portion of the crop, 
and to the second a large part of the gnarly, knotty fruit 
that is so often seen. Spraying with Paris green is for- 
tunately an effectual preventive of the injuries of both. 

Other Pear Insects 

The trunk of the pear tree is subject to attack from 
both the round-headed and flat-headed apple-tree borers. 
The remedies mentioned as applicable to the apple are 
equally so to the pear. The branches are sometimes in- 
fested by the oyster-shell bark louse, the pear-tree bark 
louse {Lecanium pyri), as well as the pear-blight beetle 
(Xylehorits pyri), and the fruit-bark beetle {Scolytus 
rugulosus). The leaves are also liable to attack from a 
great variety of caterpillars, which, however, are seldom 
seriously injurious. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE PLUM 



INJURING THE BARK 

The American Plum=tree Borer 

Euzopliera semifuneralis 

Plum trees are occasionally attacked by small, dusky 
caterpillar-like borers, havjng reddish heads and being 
sparsely furnished with long hairs. They are most 
likely to infest the upper portion of the trunk and the 
bases of the larger branches. It is the larva of a small 
moth that appears in May and June, and probably de- 
posits its eggs on the bark. The eggs hatch into larvas 
that feed in the tissues of the inner bark, sometimes 
causing the death of the trees. The insect remains in 
the larval condition through the winter and pupates in 
May, to emerge a little later as a moth. 

It is probable that applying to the trunk and larger 
limbs the washes recommended for the apple borer will 
prevent the injuries of this pest. 

The plum is also subject to attack by the peach-tree 
borer and another closely related species {Scmnma picti- 
pes) that breeds in wild cherry. The soap washes are 
believed to prevent their depredations also. When the 
borers are present they may be cut out with a sharp 
knife. 



113 



114 



IN-SECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Plum Scale 

Lecanmm sp. 

In seyeral widely separated localities attention has 
been called to a large scale insect affecting plums, which 
in some regions has become quite destructive. The ap- 
pearance of the insect on the branches is well shown in 
the lower part of Fig. 60. Beneath each of these scales 




Fig. go. Plum branch showing young scales in hibernation near large 

mother shells; leaves with young scales along veins, as they 

appear in summer. 

there are deposited early in summer a large number of 
small white eggs — each female being said to lay a thou- 
sand or more eggs. A month later these eggs hatch into 
tiny creatures that wander to the leaves, where they in- 



THE PLUM TREE APHIS 115 

sert their beaks and snck out the vegetable juices ; some 
of these young lice are represented in the upper part of 
Fig. 60. They produce a great amount of the so-called 
'Mioneydew " while on the leaves. Early in autumn they 
migrate to the undersides of the twigs, where they -pass 
the winter. 

Remedies. — ^' The way to combat this pest is to 
spray the infested trees several times, at least twice in 
winter or before April, first with kerosene emulsion 
(standard formula) diluted with four parts of water. 
Always bear in mind that each little scale must be hit 
with the liquid. Do not let the pest get started in force 
in April ; if it does you cannot fight it effectively until 
about July first. Then the young are hatching, and 
while they are wandering about on the branches for a few 
days, they can be successfully destroyed by the emulsion 
diluted even six or eight times. If these young scales 
get established on the leaves in July, they will be beyond 
control with a spray until November. But the moment 
the leaves fall, begin the work of destruction on the ten- 
der hibernating scales then exposed .on the bark. Thor- 
oughness must be the watchword if this new and most 
serious enemy is to be checked." — [Slingerland.] 

The Plum=tree Aphis 

Aphis pru7iifoUi 
The leaves of plum trees are frequently crowded in 
spring by small, dark-colored, soft-bodied insects that 
suck out the sap, and give the terminal portion of the 
twigs a malformed appearance. These are aphides or 
plant lice. Two or three species are known to infest the 
plum, one of which has been shown by Dr. 0. V. Eiley 
to migrate during summer to the hop plant. The life 
histories of the others are not very well known. In a 
general way they are similar to the apple aphis described 
on a previous page. 



116 IJ^SECTS AKD INSECTICIDES 

Remedies. — Spraying with kerosene emulsion is 
the most effective remedy for this insect. The applica- 
tion should be made with a force pump and spray noz- 
zle, and as soon after the insects are noticed as possible. 

Plum=leaf Caterpillars 

There are several kinds of caterpillars that occa- 
sionally attack tlie plum, but they rarely occur in suffi- 
cient numbers to do serious injury. Of these we may 
mention the plum catocala {Catocala iiUronea), the poly- 
phemus moth (Telea polyi^hemus), the horned span- 
worm {Nematocampa filament aria), the plum sphinx 
{SpJiuix drupiferarum) , the gray dagger moth {Apatela 
Occident alls), and the disippus butterfly [Limenitis dis- 
ippus). These insects are all open to destruction by 
spraying with the arsenites, and are not likely to become 
injurious in orchards regularly sprayed for the plum 
curculio. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Plum Curculio 

Conotrachelus nenuphar 

This insect, the worst foe of the plum grower, is 
the cause of the ^Svorminess" and premature dropping of 
the fruit with which so many orchardists are familiar. 
Besides plums, it breeds in peaches, nectarines, apricots, 
cherries, pears and apples. 

The adult insect (Fig. 61, c) appears in spring 
about the time of blossoming, and feeds upon the foli 
age and flowers until the fruit is well ^^set." It then at- 
tacks the young plums, gnawing at them to satisfy its 
hunger, and cutting crescent-shaped marks in the skin 
to deposit its eggs {d). In a short time these eggs hatch 
into little grnbs that feed upon the pnlp of the fruit, 
gradually working toward the pit. In a few weeks they 



THE PLUM CURCULIO 



117 



become full-grown (appearing when magnified like ft), by 
which time the infested plums have generally fallen to 
the ground. The larvae then leave the fruit, and enter- 
ing the soil a short distance change to pupae (J). A 
few weeks later they again change, and come forth as 
perfect beetles. But some of them enter the ground so 
late that they hibernate as pupge, emerging the following- 
summer. There is but one brood each season. A single 
female is able to deposit 
one hundred and fifty to 
two hundred eggs, ten fre- 
quently being laid in a sin- 
gle day. Certain parasites 
prey upon this insect, and 
are occasionally sufficiently 
numerous to prevent its in- 
juries in certain localities. 
Remedies. — Ento- 
mologists have been di-^^^ .^ plum cttrculio. «, larva; 
vided in opinion as to &, pupa; c, beetle— magnified ; d, 
whether this insect can Pl^^ showing crescent mark. 

successfully be destroyed by spraying with the arsenites, 
but the evidence in hand indicates that under usual con- 
ditions this is the best way to fight the pest, especially 
in large orchards. It has been conclusively proven that 
a majority of the curculios in a sprayed orchard will be 
killed by the poison, but the effect is not immediate. 
Consequently there may be opportunity for a certain 
amount of oviposition before the curculios die. When a 
heavy crop of fruit sets, it is desirable that a portion of 
it should be thinned, so that tbe injury of a small per- 
centage of the plums is no disadvantage. It is advisable 
to use the Bordeaux-arsenite combination, thus avoiding 
the injury which sometimes results when Paris green 
or London purple alone is applied, and also preventing 
damage by fungous diseases — such as the leaf spot and 




118 INSECTS AI^D INSECTICIDES 

plum rot. Three or four sprayings are advisable, the 
first just before the blossoms opeu, the second soon after 
the blossoms have fallen, the third about ten days after 
the second and the fourth about fifteen days after the 
third. If Paris green alone is used (four ounces to fifty 
gallons water), lime should be added, as some varieties 
of plums are very easily injured by the arsenites. 

The other method of fighting this insect is that of 
** jarring." This takes advantage of the fact that when 
a limb on which the curculio is at work is suddenly jar- 
red, the insect drojjs to the ground. A large sheet is 
placed beneath the tree, and the latter is jarred by 
striking the trunk and larger branches with a padded 
mallet. The curculios fall upon the sheet, and are 
til en collected and destroyed. Instead of a sheet, most 
commercial growers use a sort of inverted umbrella 
mounted on wheels, which is run beneath the tree. It 
has sloping sides down which the insects roll into a re- 
ceptacle in the center, where they are caught. There 
are many patterns of these catchers in use in different 
sections of the country. The insects are most easily 
caught in the morning when the atmosphere is cool. In 
case only a small crop of fruit sets and curculios are 
abundant, jarring is more certain to save it than spraying. 

The Plum Qouger 

Coccotorus prunicida 

The plum gouger is most injurious in the region 
west of the Mississippi river, being rarely or never found 
in the Eastern States. But in Iowa, and probably also 
in adjacent States, it frequently is more destructive than 
the plum curculio, from which it differs considerably in 
history and habits. The adult gouger is a small snout 
beetle, about the same size as the curculio, but with a 
smooth back, and of a yellowish or brownish color. It 




THE PLUM GOUGER 119 

appears about blossoming time, and soon after the fruit 
sets begins operations upon it. Instead of cutting a 
crescent-shaped mark in which to lay its egg, it gnaws 
out a little cayit}^ beneath the skin, in which the egg is 
deposited. A few days later the larva hatches, and bur- 
rows through the pulp to the pit, gnaAving through the 
soft shell to the ^^ meaty" portion inside. Here it con- 
tinues to develop, feeding upon 
the contents of the pit, rather than 
the pulp surrounding it. After ^i^'^^V^W --^ 
several weeks it becomes full- 
grown ; it then gnaws a hole 
through the hardening wall of the 
pit, so it can escape after complet- fig. 62. plum gouger. 
ing its transformations, and chang- ^' P""ctures on fruit, 
es to the pupal state inside. A short time afterwards it 
again changes, this time to the adult, and the beetle 
gnaws its way to the outer world, hibernating in this 
condition. It is single-brooded. 

Like the plum curculio, the adult plum gouger 
gnaws pits in the fruit for food. It also has various 
natural enemies that help to keep it in check. 

Remedies. — One would suppose, from the feeding 
habits of the plum gouger, that the adults were liable to 
destruction by spraying with the arsenites, but experi- 
ments made in Iowa by Prof. C. P. Gillette do not con- 
firm this opinion. However, the matter seems not to 
have been thoroughly tested on a large, commercial 
scale. If spraying is ineffective, recourse must be had 
to the jarring method. 



120 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Other Plum Insects 

The base of the trunk of the phim tree is occasion- 
ally attacked by the peach-tree borer ; and the uj^per 
portion of the trunk is sometimes infested with the flat- 
headed apple-tree borer and the fruit-bark beetle. The 
leaves are attacked by a large proportion of the cater- 
pillars that feed on the foliage of the apple, as well as 
the pear or cherry slug, the grapevine flea beetle, and a 
number of other insects. But spraying is a safe specific 
for nearly or quite all of these defoliators. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE PEACH 



INJURING THE ROOT 

The Peach = tree Borer 

Sannina exitiosa 

The peach-tree borer is a soft, whitish caterpillar, 
with a reddish-brown head and sixteen legs. It hatches 
from eggs laid during the summer months by a hand- 
some, day-flying moth, upon the bark of the trunk, at 
or near the soil surface. After hatching, the young 
laryse burrow through to the inner bark and sap wood of 
the larger roots, upon which they feed, causing a gummy 





a h 

Fig. 63. PEACH-BORER MOTH, a, male; 6, female. 

exudation that betrays their presence. They continue 
feeding in this way for nearly a year, being interrupted 
of course during the winter months, when they become 
full-grown as larvae. They then usually approach the 
top of the ground within an inch or two of the soil sur- 
face, and construct cocoons of the gummy exudation, 
their castings, and silk. Within these cocoons they 
change to the pupal state, and three or four weeks later 
again change to moths. The two sexes of the moths 

121 



122 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

are represented, natural size, in Fig. 63, a representing the 
male, and h the female. These moths are present more 
or less all summer ; although there is but one genera- 
tion a year, the larvae reach maturity at such different 
times that they keep up a nearly constant supply of the 
imagos. On this account one can find larvae of various 
sizes in the roots at almost any time. This insect also 
occasionally infests the plum. 

Remedies. — One of the most generally practiced 
methods of preventing the injuries of this insect is that 
of cutting out the larvae in the fall or spring, or both. 
To do this the earth is removed from about the base of 
ihe tree, and wherever the gummy exudation indicates 
that a borer is at work, a sharp knife or wire is inserted 
to kill it. It is often necessary to open the larval chan- 
nels for some distance before the depredator is found. 
Instead of digging the larvae out, some growers destroy 
them by applying scalding hot water. With this method 
the earth is removed as before, and the gummy exuda- 
tions scraped away before the water is aiiplied. 

Some growers prevent the deposition of eggs by 
mounding the soil up about the base of the trunk a 
foot or more, late in sjoring, removing it in September. 
The chief objection to this method appears to be that it 
is liable to make the bark too tender to stand the winter. 
Others jn'otect the base of the trunk by fastening paper 
or straw around it, so as to cover the bark. In Virginia 
good results have been reported from painting the 
trunks with paint made from pure white lead and linseed 
oil, about the thickness for ordinary use. This is ap- 
plied in autumn and lasts a 3^ear, the earth about the 
base being scraped away in order to apply it below the 
usual soil surface. A similar mixture, however, has 
been reported to injure cherry trees, and I would advise 
that it be used cautiously, if at all. 



THE BLACK PEACH APHIS 123 

The Black Peach Aphis 

Aphis perslccB-mger 

This is a shining black aphis that occurs in great 
numbers upon the roots, twigs and leaves of the peach m 
the Atlantic States. The root-infesting specimens seem 
to be especially injurious, causing an enfeebled condition 
of the tree that has sometimes been mistaken for the 
disease known as the "yellows." These insects repro- 
duce viviparously, or by giving birth to living young, 
and consequently, like other ajDhides, they are able to 
multiply with remarkable rapidity. There are two forms, 
one wingless and the other winged, both having shining 
black bodies, and sucking out the sap of the tree through 
their tiny beaks. 

Remedies. — The best results seem to have been at- 
tained in fighting the underground form of this insect by 
digging into the soil about the roots refuse tobacco, either 
m the form of powder or stems. Kainit is also said by 
New Jersey peach growers to serve a similar purpose. 
The aerial specimens are open to destruction by spraying 
with kerosene emulsion. 

INJURING THE TRUNK AND BRANCHES 

The Fruit=bark Beetle 

Scolytus rugulosus 

This is a small beetle which attacks apple, pear, 
quince, cherry, plum and peach trees, by boring small 
holes through the outer bark and then forming burrows 
in the inner bark. It seems to prefer the stone fruits, 
and more often seriously injures them than the apples 
and pears. Many entomologists believe that these beetles 
attack only diseased trees, but the observations of Pro- 
fessor Forbes, who has studied the species most carefully, 
indicate that '^ while these insects clearly prefer weakened 



124 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



trees, and will continue to breed in them to some extent 
even after they are nearly or quite dead, they neverthe- 
less may attack such as are really healthy and in which 
the flow of sap is temporarily restrained by transplanting 
or a relatively unthrifty growth." 

I am indebted to Professor Forbes's Avritings for the 
following account of the injuries and life history of this 
fruit-bark beetle. The upper portion of the trunk and 
bases of the larger limbs are most commonly attacked, 
but the injury often extends to the branches and smaller 
twigs. "The first conspicuous evidence of injury to the 




FIG. 64. TWIG AND BARK SHOWING PUNCTURES. 

twigs is a withering of the leaves and a shriveling of the 
bark similar to that caused by blight ; but if the trunks 
and larger branches be attacked, damage to the bark may 
go on for some time without manifest effect upon the 
general appearance of the tree." By closely examining 
the bark where the insects are at work one will see that 
it is blackened, and wnll always find "minute round punc- 
tures half or two-thirds the diameter of the head of a 
common pin. If the bark is cut away these openings are 
seen to penetrate it, commonly, to the wood, the chan- 
nels usually running vertically inward ; and if the tree 



THE FRUIT BARK BEETLE 



125 



be badly infested the under surface of the bark will be 
almost completely eaten out and marked by a network of 
channels of about the same diameter as the small holes 
already mentioned." Most of these grooves run length- 
wise of the stem, and fur- 
row both the bark and the 
surface of the wood (Fig. 
G5). "More critical ex- 
amination will show here 
and there a broader bur- 
row ; and from this cen- 
tral larger channel a great 
number of much smaller 
ones will pass out to the 
right and left as closely as 
they can be placed, in- 
creasing in size as they go, 
and presently changing 
direction, so that those at 
first running crosswise of 
the stem become longi- 
tudinal." At the end of 
these smaller channels one ff 
may often find a small 
footless grub, the larva of 
the beetle. 

These peculiar bur- 
rows are made in the man- 

., ^ ., _ _, FIG. 65. CHANNELS OF FKUIT-BAKK 

ner thus described : "The beetles. 

female beetle, resorting to the tree, burrows into the 
bark directly inward, and then, turning lengthwise of 
the bark, digs a channel from half an inch to- an inch 
and a quarter long, — the larger burrow described above, 
called the breeding chamber, — laying eggs to the right 
and left as she makes her way. As these eggs hatch, the 
young larvae, very small at first, eat outward in all direc- 




126 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

tioiis, forming the closely placed radiating channels 
already described, enlarging the burrow of course as they 
increase in size themselves ; and finally, when they have 
reached their growth, each sinks itself into the sapwood 
to a depth scarcely greater than its own thickness, stop- 
ping the channel behind it with a little mass of wood 
liber, and there it changes to the pupal stage. This 
terminal cell is consequently called the pupal chamber. 
In this little harborage the adult beetle appears and eats 
its way out through an opening similar to that by which 
the mother entered in the beginning." 

The fruit-bark beetle is a small black insect, with 
the tips of the legs and wing covers russet-red. The 
larva is whitish with a brown head. Both stages meas- 
ure abont one-tenth of an inch in length. 

Remedies. — The fact that this insect attacks un- 
thrifty and diseased trees indicates the advisability of 
keeping trees thrifty and healthy by careful cultivation 
and fertilization. The insect passes the winter in the 
larval state within the burrows, so that burning infested 
trunks and branches at that season will destroy the pests 
within. It is also j^i'obable that spraying with some 
adhesive poisonous mixture — such as the Bordeaux- 
arsenite combination — when the beetles are penetrating 
the bark to deposit eggs, would kill them. In Indiana 
trees sprayed in spring with this combination escaped 
injury. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Peach Aphis 

Myzus persicm 

This insect is much like the black peach aphis, with 
which, in fact, it has frequently been confused, but it 
appears to be distributed over a much wider area, being 
found in nearly all portions of the United States where 
peaches are grown. Like other aphides, it damages the 



OTHER PEACH INSECTS 127 

tree by sucking out the sap through the leaves or ten- 
der twigs. It is a soft, blackish little creature that, 
during the spring and summer months, reproduces by 
giving birth to living young. The species winters over 
in tiny, black eggs, laid in September or October, upon 
the twigs about the buds. 

Remedies. — Spraying with kerosene emulsion is 
the best method of destroying these little pests. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Plum Curculio 

Conotrachelus nenuphar 

This insect, whose life history has already been 
treated of on page 116, breeds in peaches, as well as in 
plums, cherries, apples and other fruits. It is especially 
liable to injure, peaches when there is a failure of the 
apple crop. It is more difficult to prevent its injuries 
on this crop than on the aj^ple or plum, because ordi- 
narily it is impracticable to jar peach trees, and their 
foliage is so easily injul^d by the arsenites that spraying 
must be done with great caution, if at all. Probably 
the safest way is to spray with the Bordeaux-arsenite 
mixture. One or two sprayings, soon after the fruit sets, 
will probably help greatly in preventing curculio injury. 

Other Peach Insects 

The trunk of the peach is sometimes infested by the 
flat-headed borers of the apple and cherry, though not 
often. The branches are subject to the attacks of the 
peach-tree bark louse (Lecanium persicce) and the New 
York Aveevil [Ithycerus novehoi^acensis) ; while the leaves 
are more or less affected by a great variety of caterpillars 
which, however, rarely do any serious injury. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE CHERRY 



INJURING THE TRUNK 

The Flat" headed Cher ry= tree Borer 

Dicerca divaricata 

This insect is closely related to the flat-headed ap- 
ple-tree borer, to which it is similar in life history and 
habits. The adult, a handsome, brassy- or copper-colored 
beetle, about four-fifths of an inch long, deposits eggs 
during the summer on the trunk of the wild and culti- 
vated cherry. These eggs hatch into larvae that bore 
through the bark to the sapwood, upon which they 
live. They gradually grow larger until, when full 
grown, they pupate, and shortly afterwards again change 
to the beetle state. 

Remedies. — Fortunately this borer is rarely seri- 
ously injurious. Should it become so, the treatment 
recommended for the flat-headed apple-tree borer would 
be also applicable in this case. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Cherry Aphis 

Myzus cerasi 

The twigs and under surface of the leaves of the 
cherry are frequently thickly infested during May and 
June by small, shining plant lice that suck out the sap 
and deform the leaves. This insect is the cherry ajDhis. 
It winters over on the twigs in the Qgg state. Early in 
spring the eggs hatch into young aphides that crawl 

128 



THE MAY BEETLE 129 

upon the bursting buds, inserting their tiny sap-sucking 
beaks into the tissues of the unfokling leaves. In a 
week or ten days they become full-grown, and begin 
giving birth to yonng lice, which also soon develop, and 
repeat the process. In this way they increase with mar- 
velous rapidity. Most of these early spring forms are 
wingless, but during June great numbers of winged lice 
appear, and late in June or early in July they leave the 
cherry, migrating to some other plant, although we do 
not yet know what that other plant is. Here they con- 
tinue develoj)ing throughout the summer, and in autumn 
a winged brood again appears and migrates back to the 
cherry. These migrants give birth to young that de- 
velop into egg-laying females, which deposit small, oval, 
shining black eggs upon the twigs about the buds. 

Remedies. — Lady beetles and certain predaceous 
and parasitic flies prey upon these little pests in great 
numbers, and often aid materially in checking their 
injuries. The best artificial remedy is that of spraying 
with kerosene emulsion, early in the season. 

The May Beetle 

Laclmo&terna fusca 

The leaves of cherry and other fruit trees are some- 
times eaten early in summer by the common May beetle 
or June bug. This insect is the parent of the 
mischievous white grub, that is so frequently destructive 
in meadows and pastures. The beetles feed upon the 
foliage at night, and sometimes appear in sufficient 
numbers to do much damage before their presence is 
discovered. 

Remedies. — Spraying the infested trees with the 
arsenites, Paris green or London purple, is the most 
promising method of preventing thei^' injuries. 



9 



180 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Cherry=tree Leaf Roller 

Caccecia cerasivorana 

One occasionally finds the leaves of a cherry twig 
fastened together in a large, compact nest, inhabited by 
numerous yellow caterpillars, that feed upon the inclosed 
leaves. This is the cherry-tree leaf roller. The adult 







FIG. 66. CHERRY TREE ON WHICH OPENING BUDS WERE DESTROYED 
BY LEAF ROLLERS. 

is a small brown moth which deposits a large number of 
eggs upon the twig. The caterpillars on hatching fasten 
the leaves together and develop within the tent thus 
formed. They become full-grown about midsummer, 




PLATE VIII. APPI.E TWIG SHOWING WORK OF LEAF ROLLERS. 

6, young apples gnawed by larvae. 



132 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

and pupate within the nest. . In a week or so thej 
are ready to change again, and the pupae work their way 
out until they are nearly free from the nest, remaining 
attached hy the hinder portions of their bodies. The 
skin then splits along the back and the moths come out. 
Remedies. — These nests are so conspicuous that it 
is a simple matter to cut and burn the infested twigs, 
thus ending the career of the posts. 

The Fruit=tree Leaf Roller 

Coccecia argyrospila 

This is a widely distributed insect that appears to 
be most destructive in the West. In general its life 
history is similar to that of the species last described. 
The way in which the larvaB, which feed on many kinds 
of trees, roll the leaves is well shown in Plate VIII. 
The amount of injury the insect sometimes does is shown 
by Fig. 66, which represents a cherry, tree defoliated by 
the pest. Spraying with the arsenites is the best 
remedy. 

The Pear=tree Slug 

Erio ccmijm cerasi 

This insect is probably as destructive to the cherry 
as to the pear, under which we have already discussed it. 
Its life history on the two fruits is similar, and the 
remedies are the same in both cases. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Plum Curculio 

Conotrachelus nenuphar 

This insect, which has ah*eady been discussed under 
the plum (p. 117), is also exceedingly injurious to cher- 
ries. The latter, however, usually do not fall off w^ien 



THE PEAR TREE SLUG ,133 

infested by the curculio larv^, but remain on the tree 
until the fruit ripens. The remedial measures suggested 
in connection with the plum are equally applicable to this 
fruit. 

Other Cherry Insects 

There are a large number of caterpillars that feed 
upon the leaves of cherries, but they rarely do noticeable 
injury, and spraying with the arsenites will keep nearly 
if not quite all of them in check. 










PLATE IX. A GROUP OF LEAF HOPPEBS. Magnifl.ed. 



INSECTS Affecting small Fruits 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE STRAWBERRY 



INJURING THE ROOT 

The Strawberry = root Worms 

Paria aterrima, Grajplioys pubescenSy and Scelodonta 
nebulosus 

In the larval stage the three species of beetles named 
above feed upon the fibrous roots of the strawberry, often 
doing a great deal of damage. They are quite similar in 
life history and habits, all depositing eggs about the base 
of the plant, that hatch into small whitish grubs. The 
grubs feed upon the strawberry roots, increasing gradu- 
ally in size. When fully grown they are small six-legged 
grubs, with brown heads. They pupate in earthen cells 
in the soil, and soon after emerge as small beetles that 
feed upon the foliage of the strawberry, often doing a 
noticeable damage. The injury of these insects in the 
larval state is frequently mistaken for that of the straw- 
berry-crown borer — an entirely different species. 

Remedies. — These little insects are difficult to 
deal with on account of the underground habits of the 
larvae, and the different times of development of the 
adults. Professor Forbes recommends spraying or dust- 
ing the foliage with Paris green or London purple occa- 
sionally, after the fruit is harvested, to destroy the leaf- 
eating beetles. Badly infested fields should be plowed 
up soon after the crop is gathered. Old unused straw- 
berry fields should not be left as breeding grounds for 
these and other strawberry pests. 

137 



138 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

The Strawberry=crown Miner 

Anarsia lineatella{9) 

This is a small, reddish caterpillar that bores the 
strawberry crown, making irregular channels through it 
in all directions. It becomes fully grown early in sum- 
mer, and changes to the chrysalis state, to emerge two 
or three weeks later as a small, dark gray moth. Eggs 
are deposited by this moth upon the crown of the plant, 
and soon hatch into minute larvae that bore the crown 
again, becoming partially grown before winter, and hi- 
bernating within their burrows. This is the life history 
of the species in Canada ; probably farther south there 
may be two broods a year. 

Remedies. — No successful remedy for this insect 
is known. Badly infested fields would probably have to 
be plowed up, and this should be done preferably in the 
fall or early spring. 

The Strawberry=crown Borer 

Tyloderma fragaricB 

This insect has been known for many years as one 
of the most destructive enemies of the strawberry in the 
great small-fruit fields of the Mississippi Valley. The 
larva (Fig. 67, a,) is a whitish, footless, yellow-headed 
grub about one-fifth of an inch long, that lives in the 
crowns of strawberry plants, frequently hollowing them 
out so much that the vines are weakened or destroyed. 
The adult insect is a small, dark-colored snout beetle 
about a fifth of an inch long, and of the form repre- 
sented at Fig. 67, h, c. It is unable to fly, because of 
the rudimentary condition of its membranous wings. 
According to Professor Forbes, " the eggs are laid on the 
crown in spring, being pushed down among the bases 



THE STEAWBEREY CROWK BOEER 



139 




FIG. 67. STKAWBEERY-CROWN BORER. 

a, larva; b, beetle, side view; c, beetle, back 
view. 



of the leaves. The larvae penetrate the crown soon after 
hatching, and excavate the interior all summer, until 
they get their growth. A single larva does not wholly 
destroy a plant, as it matures about the time a quarter or 
a third of the substance of the crown is devoured. Fre- 
quently two or three or more beetles will attack a single 
stool, and they then 
leave behind them 
only a hollow shell 
to which the roots 
are attached. Still 
in its subterranean 
cavity the worm 
transforms to a 
pupa, and m the 
same safe retreat 
effects also the final change to the mature beetle, this 
last transformation occurring all the way along from 
August to October, during a period of about two months. 
The beetles all escape from the crowns in autumn, but 
are not known to lay any eggs until the following year. 
They pass the winter as adults in the fields infested by 
them as larvae. It feeds while a mature insecfc upon the 
tissues of the plant." 

Remedies. — This insect is especially liable to in- 
jure old strawberry fields, or those which are replanted 
to this fruit without some other crop intervening. On 
account of the inability of the beetle to fly, it is not 
likely to pass from one plantation to another to deposit 
eggs, and the isolation of new plantations from old ones 
is consequently to be desired. If the plants for the new 
field must be taken from an infested patch, they should 
be dug up as early as possible, to guard against trans- 
porting eggs or larvae with them. It is probable that 
spraying the fields with the arsenites late in summer will 
lead to the poisoning of many of the beetles, and that 



140 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



burning the fields after picking will prove beneficial. 
In case infested patches are to be plowed under, this 
should be done late in June or early in Jaly, to destroy 
the half-grown larvae then present in the crowns. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Strawberry = leaf Roller 

PJioxopteris comi^tana 

This is a small, brownish caterpillar that folds the 
leaflets of the strawberry by bringing the upper surfaces 
together and fastening them by silken cords (Fig. 68), 




FIG. G8. STRAWBERRY LEAF FOLDED BY LEAF ROLLER. 

and feeds upon their substance till they look brown and 
scorched. It is sometimes exceedingly destructive, and 
has been considered by some entomologists the most in- 
jurious of the insect enemies of the strawberry. It prob- 




THE STRAWBERRY LEAP ROLLER 141 

ably occurs in nearly all the Northern States ; and is also 
found in Europe, where, however, it does not prove 
troublesome. It hatches from eggs laid in spring upon 
the strawberry plants by a small, reddish-brown moth, 
which is accurately represented slightly magnified at 
Fig. 69, c. The larva attains its full growth in June, 
when it is nearly half an inch long, of a brownish or 
greenish color, with a shining, yellowish-brown head. 

It is represented 
natural size at Fig 
69,«; the head and 
anterior segments 
c I of the body are 

* ' shown at l, and 

FIG. 69. STRAWBERRY-LEAP ROLLER, a, larva, , , j- .* . 

natural size ; 6, front of larva ; c, moth ; rf, hind ^^^ pOStCriOr CX- 
end of larva ; 6, c, and d, magnified. tremlty at d of the 

same figure. The larva pupates within the rolled leaf, 
and about midsummer emerges as a moth. These moths 
deposit eggs for a second brood of caterpillars that feed 
upon the leaves late in summer, changing to pupae early 
in autumn, and, passing the winter in that condition, 
emerge again as moths the following spring, thus com- 
l^leting the cycle of the year. In the Southern States 
there are three, and possibly four, broods a year. 

Remedies. — The best way to destroy this pest is to 
mow the field soon after the strawberry crop is gathered, 
and after leaving it a day or two to become dry, burn it 
over. This will destroy the leaf rollers as well as several 
other kinds of insects, and the spores of fungous diseases. 
It is sometimes necessary to scatter a little straw over the 
field where the leaves are not thick enough to burn well. 
The plants will not be damaged, but will soon send up a 
new lot of leaves that will grow rapidly, and be free from 
insect and fungus attack. If for any reason this 
method is not desirable, the insects of the second brood 
may be destroyed by spraying or dusting the plants in 
August with some poisonous insecticide. 



142 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Strawberry Slug 

Emphytus maculatus 

The transformations of this insect have been well 
represented by Dr. Riley at Fig. 70. The four- winged 
fly (3) appears in spring and deposits its eggs within 
the tissues of the leaf or stem. The lai'vse hatch in a 
short time, and feed ujDon the leaf, gnawing small, cir- 
cular holes at first, like those eaten out of currant and 
gooseberry leaves by young currant worms. They de- 
velop in five or six weeks into pale-green worms (4, 6) 




FIG. 70. STRAWBERRY SLUG. 1,2, pupa; 3,5, fly; 4, 6, larva; 7, cocoon; 
9, egg, magnified. 

about three-fourths of an inch long. The larvae now go 
shghtly beneath the surface, where they form cocoons 
(7) within which they change to the pupal state (1, 2), 
and later emerge as flies. In the Southern States there 
are two broods each season, while at the North there 
appears to be but one. 

Remedies. — The strawberry slug is especially liable 
to injure young, non-fruiting plantations, where it may 
easily be destroyed by spraying or dusting with Paris 
green. On fruiting plantations this method may be used 



THE TARN^ISHED PLANT BUG 143 

in localities where a second brood of larvae appears after 
the fruit is gathered. Pyrethrum or insect powder may 
be used in such cases on the first brood. It is probable 
that burning the fields over early in summer after the 
crop is gathered will help to hold this insect in check. 

INJURING THE BLOSSOMS AND FRUIT 

The Tarnished Plant Bug 

Lygus 2^rate7isis 

This is a small yellowish-brown or yellowish-green 
bug, more or less mottled with dusky, about one-fifth 
of an inch long (Fig. 71), which is extremely common 
in nearly all parts of the United States. It attacks a 
great variety of plants, subsisting upon the sap, and is 
especially destructive in the strawberry 
field on account of its injuries to the 
young fruit, the growth of which it / 
checks, causing an irregular, malformed 
appearance known as *' buttoning." 
According to Professor Forbes, "the 
adults pass the winter under rubbish 
and matted vegetation in a variety of 
situations. With the earliest warm 

^ « . i 1 , * ,1 1 I'lG- 71. TARNISHED 

days of spring they venture forth and plant bug. Mag- 
collect upon whatever tender vegeta- "ified. 
tion of tree or shrub offers them a supply of sap within 
the reach of their rather slender beaks. On their food 
plants they lay their eggs. The young soon appear, 
mingled with the adults, as early as the latter part of 
April and the first of May (in Southern Illinois), and 
feed with them side by side. By the middle of May the 
older individuals have matured, and tlien all stages may 
be found together upon the same plauts ; but the 
winged forms scatter widely, and in June and July are 
generally distributed wherever suitable food occurs." 




144 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



There are two, and perhaps more, broods each season. In 
autumn the adults are to be found abundantly upon golden- 
rods, sunflowers, asters, and various other fall flowers. 
Remedies. — As these bugs obtain their food by 
sucking, they cannot be destroyed by coating their food 
plants with poisons. The application of i^yre thrum (in- 
sect powder) has proven the most successful remedy. By 
means of a powder gun it can be applied quite readily. 
Kerosene emulsion also destroys them, and it is claimed 
that the bugs can frequently be collected in insect nets 
with profit. 

The Strawberry Weevil 

Antlionomus signatus 

This is a small black snout beetle of the form shown 
magnified at Fig. 72, a, which deposits eggs in the 





FIO. 72. STRAWBERRY WEEVIL. 

a, beetle magnified; h. strawberry spray covered with beetles. 

buds of strawberries and blackberries, and then gnaws 
partly through the stems a short distance below the buds. 



THE STRAWBERRY WEEVIL 145 

causing the latter to wilt and droop (Fig. 72, «, h). The 
iigg hatches into a little grub that develops in the bud, 
becoming full-grown in a few weeks, when it resembles, 
greatly magnified. Fig. 73, d. It pupates in the bud, 
emerging as a perfect beetle about fiye weeks after the 
egg is laid. The beetles then migrate to other flowers, 




FIG. 73. STRAWBERRY WEEVIL. 

a, work in bud and stem ; c, egg ; d, larva ; e, head of larva ; g, blossom 

showing location of egg on left, and lioles made by beetle ; 

/, pupa; c-g, magnified. 

soon after which they disappear for the season. There 
are several species of parasites which assist in keeping 
this insect in check. 

Remedies. — Upon thiis point Dr. C. V. Riley writes : 
*^The first requisite is clean culture. All old strawberry 
beds and blackberry plants, wild and cultivated, in the 
10 



146 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

neighborhood of the bearing vines, should be destroyed. 
The parasites may be encouraged by collecting the in- 
jured buds and confining them in a box or barrel covered 
with fine wire gauze or bobbinet of a mesh small 
enough to retain the weevils, but of sufficient size to per- 
mit the escape of the parasites. A few rows of early 
flowering, staminate varieties might be planted among 
beds of later-beariug plants to serve as traps for the 
hibernating brood, which could then be destroyed by 
beating them from the flowers into pans of water to 
which a few drops of kerosene had been added. A per- 
fect preventive may be found in completely covering the 
beds with frames of muslin or some similar light mate- 
rial. This covering will not only exclude all other inju- 
rious insects but is a positive benefit to the berries, which 
ripen a week or ten days earlier, being superior in size 
and quality. In addition it secures against frost." 

Other Strawberry Insects 

The strawberry is subject to attack by a large num- 
ber of insects besides those discussed above. The roots 
are often eaten, especially when new plantations are 
made on land previously in grass, by white grubs ; and 
the stems are sometimes severed by various species of 
cutworms. The blossom is occasionally attacked by a 
small thrips {Tlirips tritici) that prevents the fertiliza- 
tion of the fruit, and by certain caterpillars that devour 
it. As to the enemies of the foliage, their name is 
legion : spanworms, leaf rollers, army worms, plant lico, 
etc., all help to swell the list. And the fruit is not 
neglected ; it caters to the dainty appetite of various 
ants, myriapods, bugs and beetles. But the pests that 
are most generally and commonly injurious have been 
included in the previous pages. 

Summary of Treatment. — Strawberry planta- 
tions should be rotated with other crops every three, or 



OTHER STRAWBERRY IN^SECTS 147 

in some cases possibly four, years, and old plantations 
should never be left unplowed to serve as breeding places 
for iDsect pests. It is generally advisable to mow and 
burn over the field soon after the crop is gathered, a 
method by which many insect and fungous foes may 
be held in check. Other treatment must be regulated 
according to the insects present and the circumstances 
accompanying the attack. 



INSECTS AFFECTING CURRANTS AND 
GOOSEBERRIES 



INJURING THE STEM 

The Imported Currant Borer 

Sesia tipuliformis 

This insect is a small, whitish larva that burrows 
up and down the stems of currants, weakening them so 
that they are checked in growth and appear stunted 
and unhealthy. It hatches from eggs deposited singly, 
on the young stems near the buds, early in summer, by 
a beautiful, clear- winged, wasp-like moth, with a bluish- 
black body, and three golden-yellow transverse bands 
across the abdomen. It measures from tip to tip of the 
expanded wings nearly three-quarters of an inch. The 
wings are transparent except at the borders, where they 
are brownish-black. 

A few days after the Qgg is deposited it hatches into 
a small larva that gnaws through the stem to the cen- 
ter, where it feeds on the pith. It continues so to do all 
Slimmer, making a burrow several inches in length. 
When full grown the larva eats nearly through the stem 
wall, leaving only the membranous outer bark, and then 
changes to a chrysalis within the burrow. When the 
chrysalis is ready to transform it wriggles partially out 
of this opening, bursting through the layer of membra- 
nous bark. It then rests halfway out, its skin splits 
open in front and the moth crawls out, leaving a mere 
shell behind. The moth dries and expands its wings, 

148 



THE IMPORTED CURRANT WORM 



149 



and flies away. There is but one brood a year. The 
gooseberry is only occasionally attacked by this pest. 

Remedies. — Cutting and burning infested stems 
in the spring before the moths emerge, is the only 
practicable remedy that has yet been suggested. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Imported Currant Worm 

Nematus ventricosus 

This insect is supposed to have been imported into 
America from Europe about 1858, since when it has 




FIG. 74. CURRANT- WORM FLY. 
a, male ; 6, female. Magnified. 



75. CURRANT LEAF WITH EGGS 
OF CURRANT WORBI. 



spread over a large portion of the United States, and 
has become the most destructive currant insect. 

Early in spring the four-winged flies (Fig. 74) 
emerge from the tough brown cocoons in which they 
have hibernated, and deposit rows of small, whitish, 
glassy eggs on the principal veins of the undersides of 



150 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



the lower leaves (Fig. 75, 1). In about ten days the small 
worms hatch and eat circular holes in the leaf, as shown 
at 2 and 3, Fig. 75. At first these larvae are whitish in 
color ; they soon change to green, then to green with 

numerous black 
spots, and at last 
back again to a 
plain light green, 
with a tinge of 
yellow at the 
sides and ends. 
They are shown 
at different ages 
at Fig. 76. The 
full-grown larvae 
spin tough brown 
cocoons, beneath 
the leaves and 
rubbish at the 
surface of the 
ground, within which they cliange to pupae. From these 
cocoons the flies emerge early in summer, to lay eggs for 
a second brood of worms. As before indicated, the 
winter is passed within the cocoons, beneath the bushes. 
Remedies. — Hellebore is .the best remedy for this 
pest. It may be applied as a dry powder, or in water — 
one ounce to three gallons. The bushes should be 
treated soon after the small holes appear in the lower 
leaves, and again about ten days later. 




FIG. 76. CURRANT WORMS EATING LEAVES. 




THE CURRANT APHIS 151 

The Currant=Ieaf Hopper 

Empoa albopicta 

This is a small, pale-green insect, about one-tenth 
of an inch long, that occurs upon the under surfaces of 
the leaves of currants and gooseberries during May and 
June. They suck out the substance by means of their 
tiny beaks, which causes 
white spots to appear on 
the upper surface of the 
leaf. This same insect 
also occurs upon a large 
number of other plants, 
sometimes being quite in- 
jurious to young apple 
trees. The chief damage 
is done by the first brood, fig. 76a. currant-leaf hopper. 
the insects leaving the '^^"^ 

bushes early in the summer, probably preferring at this 
time the more succulent foliage of other plants. 

Remedies. — Spraying or dusting infested bushes 
with pyrethrum or insect powder will destroy these little 
pests, provided it is done before they acquire wings. 
Tobacco powder is also said by many horticulturists to 
be an efficient remedy. 

The Currant Aphis 

Myziis riUs 

This is a small, yellowish aphis that is found on the 
undersides of curled and blistered currant leaves early in 
summer. Such leaves are generally tinged with red 
above. The insects apparently migrate to some other 
plant during the summer, returning to the currant in 
autumn, and depositing small black eggs upon the 
stems, especially about the buds. 



152 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



Remedies. — On account of the deformed condition 
of the infested leaves, these insects are difficult to reach 
with insecticides. In garden patches the leaves attacked 
may be pulled off and dropped into a vessel holding 
water, with a film of kerosene on top. Spraying with 
kerosene emulsion quite early in the season, before the 
foliage has become conspicuously curled, would probably 
destroy a majority of the aphides then present upon the 
leaves. 



The 



Bug 



Four=lined Leaf 

Poecilocapsus Imeatus 

This insect is a widely distributed pest which for a 
number of years has done great damage to currants, 
gooseberries and other plants. Its life history has re- 
cently been worked 
out by Mr. M. V. 
Slingerland of Cor- 
nell University ; to 
his excellent dis- 
cussion of the spe- 
cies I am indebted 
for the figures and 
information that 
follow: In the 
Northern States 
the four-lined leaf 
bug generally first 
appears '^ about the 
middle of May on 
the newest, tenderest terminal leaves. The insects are 
then so small and active in hiding themselves that they are 
not apt to attract attention. Their work, however, soon 
becomes apparent. Minute semi-transparent darkish 
spots appear on the terminal leaves. These spots are 
scarcely larger than a common pin's head, and are round 




FIG. 77. FOUR-LINED BUG. Natural size rep 
resented in small figure at the right. 



THE FOUR LINED LEAF BUG 



153 



or slightly angular in shape, depending upon the direc- 
tion of the minute veinlets of the leaf which bound 
them. The insect has inserted its beak into the leaf 
and sucked out nearly all of the opaque- green pulj:) or 
parenchyma of the interior within a small area bounded 
by the little yeinlets." These spots later turn brown 
and die ; and eyentually, as the insects increase in size 
and destructive power, the leaves become withered and 
dead, as represented in Plate X, 1), ^^When all the 
tenderest leaves have succumbed, 
the insect continues its attack on 
the older leaves lower down. Dur- 
ing its lifetime a single insect will 
destroy at least two or three cur- 
rant or gooseberry leaves. This 
accounts for the fact that the injury 
wrought often seems much out of 
proportion to the number of insects 
at work. 

*^When the .insects are very 
numerous, the growth of the shoots 
is often checked, they droop, wither 
and die. Some have thought that 
this blasting of the growth was 
caused by a poisonous saliva which 
the insect injected into the wound fig- 78. section of cur- 

,,.,,, TT ... RANT STEM SHOWING 

made by its beak. However, it is ^^^^ ^^ position. 

more probable that the shoot dies e, egg, greatly enlarged. 

or its growth is checked on account of the death of its 
breathing organs — the leaves. On the currant, goose- 
berry, and many other plants the insect confines its 
attacks to the leaves, but on some ornamental plants, 
as the dahlia and rose, the most frequent point of attack 
seems to be the buds." 

Mr. Slingerland has, for the first time, traced the 
annual cycle of this pest. He finds that ''the nymphs 




154 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

appear in the latter part of May upon shrubby plants, 
where they continue to feed upon the tender leaves for 
two or three weeks, undergoing five molts. The adults 
appear early in June and often spread to different sur- 
rounding succulent plants. Egg laying begins in the 
latter part of June, the eggs being laid in slits cut in 
the stems of shrubs near the tips of the new growth. 
The adults disappear in July and the insect hibernates 
in the egg. Only one brood occurs each year in New 
York." 

The eggs are deposited in the stems, several being 
placed side by side in a longitudinal row (Fig. 78). The 
egg clusters as they appear on the surface of the young 
shoots are represented in Plate X, a. 

The four-lined leaf bug shows an extraordinary 
range of food plants, fifty-four species being listed as 
attacked by it. *' Botanically considered, these lists are 
of interest, as they show an exceedingly wide range of 
food plants for a single species of insect. Earely do we 
find a'n insect attacking indiscriminately so many differ- 
ent plants with such widely different characteristics. 
The fifty-four species of plants represent forty-nine gen- 
era in thirty-one different families of the flowering 
plants. The gymnosperms, like the pine, etc., are not 
represented, and but one genus (HemerocaUis) of the 
monocotyledons. Fourteen of the plants are useful for 
food or medicine ; twenty-nine are ornamental ; while 
but eleven are wild species. Thus the beneficial results 
from the attack, rarely severe, of the insect upon the 
weeds, so termed, is slight compared with its frequently 
very injurious attacks upon the cultivated plants." 

Remedies. — Mr. Slingerland has shown that tlie 
nymphs may be killed in May by sj^raying with kerosene 
emulsion diluted with five parts of water. The insects 
may also be destroyed by jarring them into a pan con- 
taining water and a little kerosene. This can be done 




^' 







PLATE X. INJURIES OF FOUR-LINED LEAF BUG. 



156 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



at any time of day. The development of the pests may 
be effectually i)revented by pruning and burning, some- 
time between August and the following May, the tips of 
the branches in which the eggs have been laid. 

The Currant Spanworm 

Eitfitchia rihearia 

This insect is well illustrated in its different stages 
in Fig. 78 a. The mischief is done by the looping cater- 




FIG. 78a. CURRANT SPANWORM. 



pillar that hatches from eggs laid on the twigs by the 
slender-bodied, broad-winged moths. There is only one 
brood each season. 



THE GOOSEBERRY FRUIT WORM 157 

As a rule this insect is not nearly so common as the 
imported currant worm, but it has occasionally been 
known to become seriously destructive. The worms are 
easily destroyed by white hellebore applied in the same 
wny as for the imported species. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Qooseberry=fruit Worm 

Dakruma convolutella 

The fruit of the gooseberry, and occasionally of the 
currant also, is often attacked by a small worm that eat^ 
out the substance, leaving only the skin. This is the ^yo- 
geny of an Qgg laid on the fruit when it was quite small 
by a spotted, pale-gray moth. Soon after hatching from 
this Qgg the larva bores into the berry, and feeds upon 
the pulp. After it has eaten out one berry it fastens an- 
other to it by silken threads, and devours its contents, 
continuing the process until by the time it is fully grown 
it has formed a cluster of six or eight injured berries. 
At this time it is a pale-green caterpillar, three-fourths 
of an inch long, with a small, brown, horny-looking 
liead. Shortly before the fruit ripens it lets itself to the 
ground by a silken thread, and concealed among the 
fallen leaves and rubbish, spins a thin, silken cocoon 
within which it changes to a brown chrysalis. It re- 
mains in this condition until the following spring, when 
it comes forth as a moth ; consequently there is only one 
brood of the larvae each year. 

Remedies. — The fruit injured by these caterpillars 
is so conspicuous that hand picking is a practical remedy. 
This must be done rapidly as the larvae wriggle out of 
the cases and drop to the ground quickly when disturbed. 
If chickens are allowed to run over the ground after the 
fruit is gathered they will scratch up and devour many 
of the pupae. So also will many be destroyed if the 



158 II^rSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

fallen leaves and rubbish are raked together and burned 
in autumn. 

Other Currant and Gooseberry Insects 

There are a number of other insects that occasion- 
ally attack these fruits. The stems are sometimes in- 
fested by the currant-bark louse {Lecanium rihis) and the 
American currant borer {Psenocerus supernotatus) ; the 
leaves are attacked by various caterpillars, and the fruit 
is liable to injury from numerous insects, especially the 
currant-fruit worm {Eiqnthecia inter ruptofascicdci), the 
curranfc fly (Epoclira canadensis) and the gooseberry 
midge {Cecidomyia grossularice). But these species are 
rarely sufficiently numerous to require special remedial 
treatment. 

Summary of Treatment. — About the only regu- 
lar treatment currants and gooseberries require is that of 
spraying or dusting with hellebore, soon after the leaves 
expand, to destroy the imported currant worm. Stems 
which at that time show by their drooping foliage and 
weak appearance that they are probably infested by 
borers, should be cut and burned. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE RASPBERRY 
AND BLACKBERRY 



INJURING THE ROOTS 

The Raspberry-root Borer 

Bemhecia 7narginata 

The stems of raspberries and blackberries are some- 
times injured by a whitish caterpillar with si;5:teen legs, 
that bores the root and base of the stem. This is tlie 
raspberry-root borer, and the caterpillar hatches from an 
Qgg deposited by a clear- winged moth upon the cane, a 
few inches above the soil surface. The larva, after 
hatching, eats into the center of the stalk, where it de- 
vours the pith, working downward toward the root. It 
spends the winter in the root, feeding upon its substance, 
and in spring works upward again, generally in an- 
other cane than the one in wliich it descended. A few 
inches above the ground it gnaws almost through the 
stem wall, leaving the thin outer membrane intact. It 
then pupates inside the cane, near the partial opening. 
A short time later the pupa wriggles through the hole, 
bursting the outer membrane, and stops when about 
halfway out. Then the skin splits open and the moth 
comes forth. Canes attacked by these borers often 
wither and die, and the injury is sometimes attributed 
to '* winterkilling." 

Remedies.— No other remedy than that of cutting 
out the Jarvse, or pulling up and burning the infested 

159 



160 INSECTS AKD IKSECTICIDES 

canes, has yet been discovered. Fortunately this insect 
is rarely sufficiently numerous to do serious injury. It 
occurs in wild as well as cultivated sorts. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Raspberry Slug 

MonophadrMs ruH 

The raspberry slug or raspberry sawfly is a four- 
winged black fly with a reddish abdomen, which deposits 
its eggs during spring in the ras])berry leaf. The eggs 
soon hatch into small whitish worms that feed upon the 
soft tissues of the tender foliage. In a few weeks they 
become full-grown. They are then about three-fourths 
of an inch long, of a dark green color, and have the body 
thickly co^^red with spinose tubercles. The slugs now 
descend to the ground and construct rather firm cocoons 
slightly beneatli the soil surface. They remain in these 
cocoons until the following S23ring, when they come forth 
as the adult flies. 

Remedies. — These insects can easily be destroyed 
by dusting or spraying the infested bushes with pow- 
dered hellebore. In spraying, use from one-half to one 
pound of hellebore to fifty gallons of water. 

INJURING THE CANES 

The Raspberry=cane Borer 

Oherea himaculata 

The adult of this insect is a slender-bodied, black 
beetle, with a yellow collar just behind the head. It ap- 
pears early in summer, usually during June in the North- 
ern States, and deposits eggs in the green canes of rasp- 
berries and blackberries. The process of oviposition is 
peculiar ; the beetle makes two transverse rows of punc- 
tures about half an inch apart in the cane, towards the 



THE SNOWY TREE CRICKET 161 

tip, and midway between these she deposits the egg. 
The rows of punctures make up a kind of girdling which 
causes the tip of the cane to wither. A short time after 
the egg is deposited it hatches into a small cylindrical 
larva that bores downwards through the pith. By 
autumn they have frequently reached the bottom of the 
cane, where they change to pupag, and the following June 
emerge again as beetles. 

Remedies. — Soon after the canes are punctured by 
the beetle they wilt ; consequently, if they are examined 
about midsummer, affected canes can easily be distin- 
guished, and they should then be cut off below the lower 
ring of punctures and burned. If the injury is noticed 
later, the whole cane should be pulled up and destroyed 
to be sure to get the larva. 



The Snowy Tree Cricket 

Oecanthus niveus 
Serious damage is frequently done in raspberry plan- 
tations by a small white tree cricket, which deposits its 
eggs in longitudinal rows in the green canes. One of 
these rows as it appears when the insect has completed 
its work is represented at Fig. 79, a, and the cane split 
open to show how the eggs are inserted is shown at h of 
the same figure. At c may be seen one of the elongated, 
slightly curved, yellow eggs, considerably magnified, 
with an opaque, granulated cap at the upper end ; d is a 
more highly magnified view of this cap. The eggs hatch 
early in summer into young crickets bearing a general 
resemblance to the adults, though without wings. They 
feed upon plant lice and other insects during their 
entire existence, being consequently in this way friends 
rather than foes of the fruit grower. By the latter part 
of summer they become fully grown. They are then of 
11 



162 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



a pale, whitish-green color, about four-fifths of an inch 
long, and nearly of the form represented at Fig. 80, 
which is a closely related species. The 
female cricket deposits her eggs in 
the tender, growing canes of raspber- 





FIG. 80. TREE CRICKET. 

Magnified. 

ries, blackberries and grapes, and the 

twigs of maple, willow, catalpa, and 

several other species of trees. The 

injury thus done often causes the 

™REE?RS-™.^a?5g ^''^sP^^^^i®^ *^ ^^^ beyond the punc- 

spuropen' to s^how turcs, or clsc the damaged canes are 

SfSl^Taf mSSmlgi broken off during the winter. 

"ified. Remedies. — Trimming out and 

burning during fall or winter the canes containing the 

eggs is about the only practicable remedy known. 



THE RED N-ECKED AGRILUS 



163 



The Red=necked Agrilus 

Agrilus ruficollis 

One m;iy often find near the base of tlie canes of 
raspberries and blackberries a peculiar gall formation 
resembling Fig. 81, a. If such a gall is cut open it will 
be seen that the form is due to 
the excessive growth of the bark. 
This injury is caused by a slender 
whitish worm that hatches from 
an e^g laid in summer by a small 
elongate beetle {c) in the axil of a 
leafstalk usually not far from the 
soil. The young larva burrows 
through the inner bark, some- 
times penetrating to the pith, and 
frequently girdling the cane. Its 
presence causes the abnormal 
growth manifested in the forma- 
tion of the gall. In autumn the 





FIG. 81. RED-NECKED AGRILUS. «, gall ; c, beetle, magnified. 

larva enters the central pith, burrowing up or down in 
it some distance. The following spring it pupates and 
early in summer emerges as an adult beetle, w^hich is 
about one-third of an inch long, ^'somewhat tapering 
toward the end of the body, bronze brown in general 
color, but with a coppery-red or brassy neck or thorax, 



164 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

which makes it easily recognized and gives tlie name to 
the species. It is found during briglit sunshiny days 
in late May, all of June and half of July, on the upper 
surface of the leaves, eating little round holes, but not 
doing any j^erce^Dtible injury in this stage. The beetle 
is quite active, and flies readily, or if surprised, it will 
fold its legs and drop to the ground, remaining quiet 
until the danger is over." 

Remedies. — Upon this point Professor J. B. Smith 
writes : ''The mode of checking and avoiding future 
injury by this species is obvious, and requires only a 
little additional Avork when trimming. As early in the 
spring as may be, and certainly by the middle of April, 
the canes should all be carefully examined and cut 
away below the galls. If these are at or near the sur- 
face of the ground, the entire cane must be sacrificed. 
It might possibly bear some fruit ; but it v/ould certainly 
mature a beetle which would destroy a dozen other canes, 
and this would be j^oor economy. As tlie plants are all 
pruned each spring in any case, it means simply a little 
more care and judgment exercised in the work at a 
somewhat greater expense of time. After the cutting, 
all the twigs and other rubbish should be raked out, 
and at once burned. If the cut canes are left in the 
field, the beetles will mature as well as if no cutting had 
been done, and nothing is gained. Every gall should be 
cut out and destroyed before the beginning of May. 
This will prevent maturing of the beetles, and the field 
will be exempt from further injury unless specimens 
come on from other sources. This fact makes it impor- 
tant that growers should co-operate in the work, and 
that, as already suggested, some means should be pro- 
vided to compel all engaged in blackberry culture to 
prevent their land from becoming a nuisance to their 
neighbors." 



THE PITHY BLACKBERRY GALL 



165 



The Pithy Blackberry Gall 

Diastrophus nebulosus 

The peculiar large galls represented in Fig. 82, a, 
are sometimes found on blackberry canes. These are 
caused by a small fly which deposits eggs in the cane. 




FIG. 82. PITHY GALL. 



6, cut open; c, larva; d, pupa; c, d magnified. 

The eggs hatch into small grubs that cause the mal- 
formed growth ; they feed upon the tissues, each making 
a little cell in which they finally pupate, to emerge later 
as adult flies. The holes through which they come are 



166 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

seen at a; the larva — natural size and magnified — at c, 
and the jDiipa magnified at d. Certain parasites prey 
upon these insects, wliich are seldom sutficiertly abun- 
dant to do noticeable injury. Cutting and burning the 
galls is an easy remedy when necessary. 

Other Raspberry and Blackberry 
Insects 

Raspberries and blackberries are subject to attack 
by various insects besides those discussed in the fore- 
going pages. Certain galls are sometimes found upon 
the roots, due usually to the raspberry-root gallfly 
(Rhodites radiciim). The foliage is sometimes eaten by 
various caterpillars or beetles, and the fruit is occasion- 
ally infested by the flea-like negro bug, or tlie raspberry 
s})anworm {Synchloj'a ruMvoraria). But these various 
insects as a rule only do an incidental injury, and are 
rarely sufficiently numerous to require special remedial 
treatment. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE GRAPE 



INJURING THE ROOT 

The Qrape=root Borer 

Sciapteron polistiformis 

The roots of grapes are sometimes fonncl to be 
attacked by a whitish, cylindrical caterpillar with sixteen 
legs, which bears a strong general resemblance to the 
peach-tree borer. This is the insect named above. 
"When full-grown," according to Dr. Riley, 'Hhe larva 
measures from an inch to an inch and three-quarters, and 
it then forms a pod-like cocoon of a gammy sort of silk, 
covered with little bits of wood bark and dirt. Within 
this cocoon it becomes a chrysalis, which in due time, by 
aid of rows of minute teeth with which it is furnished, 
works its way out of the cocoon to the surface of the 
ground and gives forth the moth. As with the peach 
borer, this insect requires a year to develop, and is found 
in its different states of larva, chrysalis and moth, 
throughout the summer months, and it doubtless also 
passes the winter as a larva." The moth is a wasp-like 
creature, black, with bright yellow bands across the 
abdomen. 

Remedies. — This insect is rarely seriously injuri- 
ous. When a vine shows by its weak or drooping ap- 
pearance that it is suffering from an injury at the root, 
the earth should be dug away and the borers searched 
for, as is done with the peach borer. It has been sug- 
gested that mounding about the base of the vine with 
earth would prevent the deposition of eggs. 

167 



108 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

The Qrape Phylloxera 

Phylloxera vastatrix 
The grape phylloxera is the worst insect enemy of 
the yineyardist. Its ravages have ruined thousands of 
acres of grapes in France and other European countries, 
and much damage has been done by it in America. 
There are two forms of it, one mhabiting the roots (rep- 
resented in its various stages in Fig. 85), and one in- 




FIG. 83. PHYLLOXERA GALLS ON GKAPE LEAF. 

habiting the leaves (Fig. 84), upon which it forms mi- 
nute galls (Fig. 83). 

Entomologists and horticulturists are indebted to 
Dr. C. V. Eiley for the elucidation of the life history of 
this curious insect, which, in his Seventh Report as 
State Entomologist of Missouri, he has summarized as 
follows: "It hibernates mostly as a young larva tor- 
pidly attached to the roots, and so deepened in color as 
generally to be of a dull brassy-brown, and, therefore, 
with difficulty perceived, as the roots are often of the 



THE GRAPE PHYLLOXERA 



169 



same color. With the renewal of vine growth in the 
spring, this larva molts, rapidly increases in size, and 
soon commences laying eggs. These eggs in due time 
give birth to young, which soon become virginal, egg- 
laying mothers, like the first ; and like them, always 
remain wingless. Five or six generations of these par- 
thenogenetic, egg-bearing, apterous mothers follow each 
other ; when — about the middle of July, in this latitude 
— some of the individuals beo^in to acquire wings. 




FIG. 84. GKAPE PHYLLOXERA, LEAF FORM. a, b, liewly hatched 

nymphs, dorsal and ventral view; c, egg; d, section of gall; e, 
swelling of tendril; /, g, h, mother of gall louse, lateral, dorsal and 
ventral views; ^, her antenna; ,;, two-jointed tarsus. Natural sizes 
indicated by small dots or figures. 

These are all females, and, like the wingless mothers, 
they are parthenogenetic. Having issued from the 
ground, while in the pupal state, they rise m the air 
and spread to new vineyards, where they deliver them- 
selves of their issue in the form of eggs or egg-like bodies 
— usually two or three in number, and not exceeding 
eight — and then perish. These eggs are of two sizes, 
the larger about 0.02 of an inch long, and the smaller 
about three-fifths of that length. In the course of a 



170 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



fortnight they produce the sexual individuals, the larger 
ones giving birth to females, the smaller to males. 
These sexual individuals are born for no other purpose 
than the reproduction of their kind, and are without 
means of flight, or of taking food, or excreting. 

'^They are quite active and couple readily, one male 
being capable, no doubt, of serving several females ; 
the abdomen of the female, after impregnation, enlarges 




FIG. 85. GRAPE PHYLLOXERA, ROOT FORM, a, infested lootlets ; 6, hi- 
bernating larva; c, d, antenna and leg of same ; e,f, g, more mature 
form; h, granulations of skin; i, tubercle; j, transverse folds at 
border of joints ; k, simple eyes. 

somewhat, and she is soon delivered of a solitary Qgg, 
which diifers from the egg of the parthenogenetic 
mother only in becoming somewhat darker. This im- 
pregnated Qgg gives birth to a young louse wliich be- 
comes a virginal, egg-bearing, wingless mother, and thus 
recommences the cycle of the species evolution. But 
one of the most important discoveries of Bolbiana is 
that, during the latter part of the season, many of the 
wingless, hypogean mothers perform the very same func- 
tion as the winged ones ; i. e., they lay a few eggs which 



THE GRAPE PHYLLOXERA 171 

are of two sizes and which produce males and females, 
organized and constructed precisely as those born of the 
winged females, and like them producing the solitary 
impregnated egg. Thus, the interesting fact is estab- 
lished that even the winged form is by no means essen- 
tial to the perpetuation of the species ; but that, if all 
such, winged individuals were destroyed as fast as they 
issue from the ground, the species could go on multi- 
plying in a vineyard from year to year. We have, there- 
fore, the spectacle of an underground insect possessing 
the power of continued existence, even where confined 
to its subterranean retreats. It spreads in the wingless 
state from vine to vine and from vineyard to vineyard, 
when tliese are adjacent, either through passages in the 
ground itself, or over the surface. At the same time it 
is able, in the winged condition, to migrate to more 
distant points. The winged females, as before stated, 
begin to appear in July, and continue to issue from the 
ground until vine growth ceases in the fall. Yet they 
are much more abundant in August than during any 
other month, and on certain days may be said to literally 
swarm. Every piece of a root a few inches long, and 
having rootlets, taken from an infested vine at this sea- 
son, will present a goodly proportion of pupae ; and an 
ordinary quart preserve jar, filled with such roots and 
tightly closed, will furnish daily, for two or three weeks, 
a dozen or more of the winged females, which gather on 
the sides of the jar toward the light. We may get some 
idea, from this fact, of the immense numbers that dis- 
appear through the air to new fields, from a single acre 
of infested vines, in the course of the late summer and 
fall months. If to the above account we add that occa- 
sionally individuals abandon their normal underground 
habit, and form galls upon the leaves of certain varieties 
of grapevine, we have, m a general way, the whole 
natural history of the species." 



172 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Remedies. — In America comparatiyely little has 
been done in a practical way in fighting this insect, be- 
cause its injuries here are usually not serious. But in 
Europe a great deal has been accomplished in preventing 
its injuries. According to Dr. Riley the means em- 
ployed there '^consist in (1) methods which avoid the 
necessity of direct treatment, comprising the use of 
American stocks and planting in sandy soils ; (2) the 
employment of insecticides (bisulphide of carbon, sul- 
phocarbonate of potassium, and the kerosene emulsion); 
and (3) submersion." 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Grapevine Fiea=beetle 

Graptodera clialyhea 

This is a small, steel-blue beetle (Fig. 8G, d) that is 
often very destructive to grapevines. It hibernates as 
an adult. As soon in spring as the buds begin to swell 
the beetles come forth and attack them. The injury at 
this time is often great, because the immature leaf and 
flower buds are so easily destroyed. The beetles continue 
feeding for three or four weeks, during the latter part 
of the time depositing small orange-yellow eggs in clus- 
ters on the undersides of the leaves. Tliey then die, 
and in a few days the eggs hatch into small, dark-colored 
larvae that feed upon the foliage. As they grow older 
they gnaw irregular holes in the leaves, giving them a 
ragged and unsightly appearance (Fig. 8G, a). When 
fully grown (three or four weeks after hatching) they 
are about three-tenths of an inch long, brown in color, 
with six legs, and four or five black dots on the back of 
each ring or segment of the body. The head is black, 
and there are numerous hairs on the body. One is shown 
somewhat magnified at h, Fig. 86. When fully grown 



THE GRAPEVINE FLEA BEETLE 



173 



the larvae leave the vines, and, entering the soil, form 
earthen cocoons (c), within which they change to pupae. 
A few weeks later they again transform and emerge as 
perfect beetles. These also feed upon the foliage and 
lay eggs for a second brood of larvae. 




FIG. 86. GRAPEVINE FLEA-BEETLE, rt, leaf infested by larva ; 6, larva, 
magnified; c, cocoon; d, beetle, magnifled. 

Remedies. — Spraying with Paris green (three 
ounces to fifty gallons water) is probably the best remedy 
for this pest. They may also be destroyed by pyrethrum 
or insect powder. On cool mornings the beetles arc 
quite sluggish, and may be collected by jarring them on 
sheets. 



174 



IlfSECTS AI^D i:n"secticides 



The Rose Chafer 

Macrodactylus snhspinosus 

This insect has been known for nearly a century as 
a serious enemy of the horticulturist. It is distributed 
over a large portion of the United States, but appears to 
be injurious only in certain localities where areas of low, 
sandy bottom lands offer unusual opportunities for it to 
multiply. It feeds in the beetle state upon a yery great 
variety of trees and plants, often being exceedingly inju- 
rious to the flowers or foliage of apples, pears, plums, 
peaches, roses, raspberries, blackberries, grapes and 
other plants. 

The adult rose chafer, rose beetle or rose bug, is a 
hard, brown insect, not quite half an inch long, of 

the form represented at Fig. 
87, c. It makes its appear- 
ance early in summer, about 
the time grapes come into 
blossom, and feeds upon the 
flowers, foliage or fruit of 
the plants already men- 
tioned. After pairing, the 
females deposit thirty or 
more eggs an inch or so be- 
neath the soil surface, preferring for this purpose, accord- 
ing to Dr. Riley's observations, '^ow, open meadow land 
or cultiyated fields, particularly where the soil is light 
and sandy." In two or three weeks the eggs hatch into 
grubs that feed upon the roots of grass, and possibly 
other plants, and become fully grown {a) in autumn. 
As winter approaches they go dee[)er into the soil, com- 
ing to the surface again in spring, and making for them- 
selves rude, earthen cells in which they change to the 
pupal state {h). Three or four weeks later they again 




CHAFER. «, larva; 
DeQtle. Slightly mag- 



THE ROSE CHAFER 175 

change, and the perfect beetle comes forth. Thus there 
is but one brood a year. The insect lives in the beetle 
state about a month. 

Remedies. — Ther^ is, perhaps, no fruit insect so 
difficult to combat as this. As yet no practicable 
method of destroying it in its breeding grounds has 
been found, and the success attending the various pre- 
ventives of beetle injury has been by no means universal. 
Spraying or dusting with pyrethrum or insect powder 
has been found to stupefy the beetles temporarily, and 
will occasionally prove useful in protecting fruits. A 
single rose bush or grapevine may be covered with mos- 
quito netting, but of course this is impracticable on a 
large scale. In regions where the beetles are not over- 
whelmingly abundant, thorough spraying of grapevines 
and fruit trees with a wash made by adding three or 
four pecks of freshly slaked lime and a quart of crude 
carbolic acid to fifty gallons of water, has been reported 
by several fruit growers to be successful, although on 
the other hand, some who have tried it in a smaller way 
say it did little or no good. A better method, which 
has been reported successful in Ehode Island, is to 
spray the buds before the blossoms open — in the State 
named the spraying was done the first week in June — 
with one pound Paris green to fifty gallons Bordeaux 
mixture. In parts of New Jersey, hand picking has 
been resorted to as the only sure method of extermina- 
tion, the insects being collected in the cooler hours of 
the day. They may be destroyed also by hot water, 
provided it is hot enough when it touches them. On 
the whole the arsenited Bordeaux mixture seems the 
most promising remedial measure for most localities 
^'here the beetles are not overwhelmingly abundant. 



17G 



IN'SECTS AliTD INSECTICIDES 



The Spotted Grapevine Beetle 

Pelidnota punctata 

This insect has been known for years to attack grape- 
vines, but it has rarely been reported to do really serious 
injury to them, probably because it usually is present in 
such limited numbers that its depredations are insignifi- 
cant. The larva (Fig. 88, a) feeds on the decaying roots of 
various trees, and resembles somewhat the common white 
grub of meadows — the larva of the May beetle. Its gen- 
eral color is whitish, with the head chestnut-brown. It 




i8. SPOTTED GRAPEVINE BEETLE. 

a, larva; 6, pupa; c, beetle. 



is supposed to require three years to complete its de- 
velopment. When full-grown it forms a sort of cocoon, 
within which it changes to the chrysalis or pupal state, to 
emerge about a fortnight later as an adult beetle. 

The general color of the upper surface of the beetle 
is a dull yellowish-brown, but the thorax is darker and 
somewhat bronzed, and the under surface is of a bril- 



GRAPE SPHINX MOTHS 



177 



liant metallic greenish-bhick hue. There are three dis- 
tinct black dots on each of the wing covers, and also one 
on each side of the thorax. The beetle usually feeds 
u23on the foliage of wild and cultivated grapevines, and 
also on the Virginia creeper, but sometimes attacks green 
grapes, biting holes through the skin and so ruining the 
fruit. 

Remedies. — The only practical remedy so far pro- 
posed is that of collecting the beetles by hand and de- 
stroying them. As they fly especially just at dusk, this 
is the best time for accomplishing the work. 

Qrape Sphinx Moths 

The grape forms the favorite food of several species 
of large and handsome sphinx moths. As there is not 




FIG. 89. THE ACHEMON SPHINX. 

space to discuss each of these, we will take the achemon 
sphinx {Philampehis achemon) as an example. The 
adult of this species is one of the most beautiful of the 
hawk moths. It measures three and a half inches across 
12 



178 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

its expanded wings, and is brownish gray in color with 
lighter brown yariegations and deeper brown spots ar- 
ranged on the front wings, as shown in the figure. The 
posterior wings are pink, more reddish toward the mid- 
dle, and having a wide grayish border along the hind 
margin, on the front edge of which is a row of dark 




FIG. 89a. LAllVA OF ACHEMON SPHIJSX. 

spots. These moths make their appearance during June 
and July, flying about grapevines and various flowers at 
dusk, and depositing their eggs on the undersides of the 
leaves of grape and Virginia creeper. Within a few days 
these eggs hatch into little larvae that feed upon the 
foliage, growing so rapidly that by September they are 




FIG. 89&. PUPA OF ACHEMOK SPHIKX. 

nearly four inches long and as thick as a 
(Fig. 89f/). At this time different individuals vary 
greatly in color, some being straw yellow and otlicrs red- 
dish brown. There are six cream-colored spots along the 
sides, and numerous little dots scattered over the body. 
The head and first two body segments are smaller than 
the rest, allowing the caterpillar to draw them partially 
inside the next one back. 




THE ABBOT SPHIl^-X 179 

The fully grown caterpillar descends to the ground, 
and entering the soil several inches forms a smooth oval 
cell, within which it changes to a dark, shining brown 
pupa or chrysalis. It remains in this condition until the 
following year, when it emerges as a moth again. 

The green grapevine sphinx {Darapsa 7ny7^on) and 
the pandorus sphinx {PMlampeltis pandorus) are closely 
related to the achemon - 

sphinx and similar to ^^^ 'r^ 

it in life history and 
habits. All three spe- 
cies are subject to the 
attacks of a small par- 
asitic fly that spins oval ^j^. g^ caterpillar with cocoons of 

cocoons upon the backs parasite. Adult parasite at right ; lat- 

of the caterpillars, as *^^ ^^^^g-^^^- 
shown at Fig. 90, which represents the larva of the 
green grapevine sphinx so infested. The life history of 
these little creatures has already been described in the 
Introduction (p. 10). 

Remedies. — Fortunately these sphinx larv^ seldom 
become sufficiently numerous to do serious injury. They 
are so conspicuous both on account of their size and the 
defoliated condition of the branches upon which they 
are at work, that hand picking is usually a sufficiently 
simple and practical remedy. 

The Abbot Sphinx 

Tliyreus dbbotii 

This is a comparatively rare species, and has never 
been known to do serious injury in vineyards. The moth 
(Fig. 91), a handsome, chocolate-brown insect, measuring 
two and a half inches across the expanded wings, appears 
in spring, and deposits eggs upon the grapevines. The 
larva soon hatches, and feeds upon the leaves, becoming 



180 



IKSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



fully grown during the latter part of summer. It is then 
nbout two and a half inches long, yellowish or reddish- 
brown ni color, and of the form represented in the upper 
illustration of Fig. 91. It now descends to the ground, 
where it forms a loose cocoon, within which it changes 





FIG. 91. ABBOT SPHINX. Laiva and moth. 

to the chrysalis state, remaining in that condition until 
the following spring, when it emerges as a moth again. 

Remedies. — Unless this insect becomes much more 
numerous than it has been heretofore, it can easily be 
held in check by a little hand picking. 

The Qrapevine=leaf Hopper 

Typlilocyba vitis 

This little insect is frequently called the grape 
thrips, but its more proper name is the one given above, 
as it is not a thrips at all, but a true leaf hopper. It is 
a beautiful little creature, about one-tenth of an inch 
long, yellow with bright-red markings, and of the form 
represented at Plate IX, Fig. 5 (p. 130). ''They make 
their first appearance," says Dr. Harris, "on the leaves 



THE GRAPEVINE LEAF HOPPER 181 

in June, \Yhen they are very small and not provided with 
wings, being then in the larval state. During most of 
the time they remain perfectly quiet with their beaks 
thrust into the leaves, from which they derive their 
nourishment by suction. If disturbed, however, they 
leap from one leaf to another with great agility. As tbey 
increase in size they have occasion frequently to change 
their skins, and great numbers of their empty cast skins, 
of a white color, will be found throughout the summer 
adhering to the undersides of the leaves, and upon the 
ground beneath the vines. When arrived at maturity, 
which generally occurs during the month of August, 
they are still more agile than before, making use of their 
delicate wings as well as their legs in their motions from 
place to place ; and when the leaves are agitated they 
leap and fly from them in swarms, but soon alight and 
begin again their destructive operations. The infested 
leaves at length become yellow, sickly, and prematurely 
dry, and give to the vine at midsummer the aspect it 
naturally assumes on the approach of winter. In 
autumn the leaf hoppers desert the vines, and retire for 
shelter during the coming winter beneath fallen leaves, 
and among the decayed tufts and roots of grass, where 
they remain till the following spring, when they emerge 
from their winter quarters, deposit their eggs upon the 
leaves of the vine, and perish." 

Remedies.— If the vines are dusted early in the 
season, before the leaf hoppers have acquired wings, with 
pyrethrum (insect powder) or tobacco dust, by means of 
some apparatus like Leggett's powder gun, the pests will 
be destroyed by the million. This appears to be the 
most promising remedy for them. Some vineyardists 
catch them on a sheet saturated with kerosene or covered 
with tar, the sheet being stretched on a frame which is 
carried along one side of the row, w^hile somebody goes 
along the other side of the vines and frightens the insects 
toward it. 



182 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Qrapevine=leaf Roller 

Desmia maculalis 

This is a slender, somewhat flattened, yellowish- 
green caterpillar, measuring when fall-grown about 
three-quarters of an inch, that rolls the leaves of grape- 
vines, fastening the sides together by silken threads. It 
hatches from an Qgg laid on the leaf by a pretty little 
dark-brown moth, expanding nearly an inch, and having 
several conspicuous white spots on its wings. The larva 




FIG. 92. GRAPE-LEAF KOLLEK. l,larva; 2, head of same, magnified; 
3, pupa; 4, 5, moth. 

usually pupates within the folded leaf. There are two 
broods each season, the first brood of larvae pupating 
about midsummer, to emerge as moths shortly after- 
wards, and the second pupating in autumn and hibernat- 
ing as chrysalids. 

Remedies. — This insect is seldom sufficiently nu- 
merous to require remedial treatment. The larv^ may be 
crushed within their cases, or the cases picked off and 
burned late in autumn, before the leaves fall off, if they 
threaten to become seriously destructive. 



THE BEAUTIFUL WOOD NYMPH 



183 



The Beautiful Wood Nymph 

Eudryas grata 

This is a very handsome insect, both in its imma- 
ture and adult stages. The moth (Fig. 93, g) measures 
nearly two inches across its expanded front wings, 
which are of a glossy creamy-white color, beautifully 
marked with purple, brown and green. It lays its eggs 
on the underside of the leaves. The larvae soon hatch 




FIG. 93. BEAUTIFUL WOOD NYMrH. a, larva; e, f, egg, magnified; 
jr, moth. 

and feed upon the foliage, developing rapidly,. so that by 
the latter part of summer they are full-grown (a), the 
body being of a pale bluish color, crossed by bands and 
lines of orange and black. The larvae now leave the 
vine and seek some concealed situation in which to pu- 
pate. They pass the winter in the chrysalis state, and 
emerge the following spring as moths. 

Remedies.— This insect is rarely injurious, prob- 
ably because it is kept in check by certain parasites. It 
can be destroyed if it should become too numerous by 



184 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



hand picking, or by spraying or dusting the infested 
vines with pyrethruni or hellebore. 

INJURING THE FRUIT 

The Qrape=berry Moth 

Eudemis botrana 

Grapes are frequently injured by having their sub- 
stance eaten out by a small, whitish worm that fastens 
three or four berries together with silken threads, and 
devours the contents of each. This insect is the larva or 
caterpillar of the grape-berry moth, a species imported 
many years ago from Europe, where it has long been 
known as an enemy of the vine. The adult is a small, 
bluish moth that deposits its eggs late in June or early in 




FIG. 94. GRAPE-BERKY MOTH. 
a, moth; b, larva; rf, injured fruit. 

July. The very young caterpillar is found within the 
skin of the grape, devouring the contents. When it has 
finished one it gnaws its way out and enters a neighbor- 
ing berry, fastening the two together with silken threads 
(Fig. 94, d). In this way three or four berries are fre- 
quently destroyed by a single larva, which, when fully 
grown, is about a quarter of an inch long, of a dull green 
color tinged with red, and covered with a few short hairs. 
It pupates on the leaf, first cutting out a crescent-shaped 
flap which it binds down by means of silken threads. 



OTHER GRAPE INSECTS 185 

forming a snug, tight cocoon. About a fortnight later, 
in southern latitudes, the moths appear, to lay eggs for a 
second brood, whicli hibernates in the pupal state. 

Remedies.— The only remedies as yet suggested 
are those of gathering and burning the fallen leaves in 
autumn or early winter, or picking and burning injured 
fruit, being sure to get the larva with it. 

Other Qrape Insects 

The grape is subject to attack by many insects be- 
sides those discussed in the preceding pages. The roots 
are sometimes bored by the gigantic larva of two species 
of Prionus — the broad-necked Prionus (P. laticollis) 
and the tile-horned Prionus (P. imhricornis) — but these 
insects usually infest only grapevines planted on new 
land and are seldom injurious in older fields. The 
branches are attacked by a variety of species, including 
certain tree hoppers, the maple-bark louse, the red- 
shouldered Sinoxylon (S, basilar e). and certain gall- 
making insects. The enemies to the foliage of the grape 
are legion, and include insects of varied habits and nat- 
ural orders. The fruit is sometimes injured by the larva 
of a small snout beetle called the grape c\\YC\x\\o{Crapon- 
ius inrnqulis), and also by a very minute larva that occurs 
inside the seed, the grape-seed maggot (Isosoma vitis). 
But these insects are seldom really injurious. 

Summary of Treatment. — The grape is subject 
to attack by so great a variety of insect enemies that it is 
difficult to give any general directions for the season's 
treatment, It must largely be regulated according to 
the insects present. Clean culture, however, is always 
advisable, as it lessens the opportunities for many species 
to survive the winter successfully. 



I^J^I^T III 

Insects affecting shade Trees, 

Ornamental Plants, and 

Flowers 




PLATE XI. THE WOOLLY ALDER APHIS. 



INSECTS AFFECTING SHADE TREES 



INJURING THE TRUNK 

The Sixteen = legged Maple Borer 

Sesia acerni 

In many portions of the Union, especially through- 
out the Central States, maple trees are often seriously 
injured by a small whitish larva that burrows through 
the sapwood and inner bark. Unlike the ordinary wood- 
boring grubs, this insect has sixteen legs and resembles 
a small caterpillar. It is about half an inch long; the 
head is yellow and the legs are reddish. The burrows 
are filled with brownish castings. It hatches from eggs 
laid on the bark, nearly always where the latter is 
cracked, bruised or otherwise injured ; the attack of this 
species often follows that of the flat-headed borer. The 
egg-laying parent is a small handsome day-flying moth, 
having clear wings and the general form represented in 
Fig. 95, c ; the head is reddish, the thorax yellowish, 
and the abdomen bluish black more or less marked with 
yellow and having a reddish tuft at the hind end. The 
front wings are bluish black blotched Avith yellow. The 
larvae feed upon the sapwood and inner bark for several 
months, often girdling the tree, before they become full- 
grown. They then burrow almost through the outer 
bark, leaving a thin layer untouched ; next they form 
slight oval silken cocoons {b) within the burrows, and 
inside of these they change to chrysalids. When ready 
for the final change, each chrysalis wriggles forward, 

189 



190 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



ruptures the thin layer of bark aucl pushes itself about 
halfway out of the opening ; then the chrysalis shell breaks 

open and the moth emerges, 
leaving its empty chrysalis 
case behind it, as shown in d 
of the accompanying figure. 
The moths emerge early in 
summer and soon after de- 
posit their eggs. 

Remedies. — Keeping 
the bark smooth and free 
from cracks or other inju- 
ries is an important preven- 
tive of the attacks of this 
insect. It is also stated that 
their injuries may be pre- 
vented by applying to the 
trunks early in summer a 
mixture of lye and soft soap, 
it being more effective if a 
•''f/ampal^tt^6 Paris green is added. 
Spraying the trunks thor- 
oughly with the Bordeaux mixture and Paris green com- 
bination might prove an effective preventive. 

INJURING THE BRANCHES 

Willow=twig Aphides 

Melanoxantlnis sp. 

The various species of willow are particularly sub- 
ject to the attacks of aphides or plant bee. No less 
than nine of those insects have been described as pre3nng 
upon them. No part of the tree, except possibly the 
root, is exempt from attack, and the bark and twigs 
receive tlie exclusive attention of at least five species. 
Some of these often become seriously injurious, and 




FIG. 95. MAPLK borer. 
piUar; b, cocoon ; c, motl 
case. 



WTLLOW TWIG APHIDES 



191 



more frequently, perhaps, their presence is extremely 
annoying where they occur upon shade or ornamental 
trees in private grounds or public parks. 

The aphides most commonly found upon willow 
twigs belong to the genus Melanoxanthus. Three Amer- 
ican species of the genus are known. The willow-grove 
aphis {M. salidi) is probably the commonest in the 
Eastern and Middle States. It is similar in appearance 
and habits to the nearly related flocculent willow-twig 
aphis, represented in Fig. 96. This insect lives over in 
the egg state on the bark of willow twigs. Early in 




FLOCCULENT WILLOW APHIS, a, ovipaious female; 
and antenna; c, eggs on bark. 



6, head 



spring the eggs hatch into young plant lice which insert 
their tiny beaks into the tender bark and suck out the 
sap. They grow rapidly, and each one soon becomes 
the mother of several young aphides. The generation 
from the Qgg are all wingless, but those of the second 
generation probably develop into both winged and wing- 
less forms, which are also viviparous. Successive broods 
continue to appear throughout the entire summer, all 



192 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

being viviparous, and some having wings while others 
have none. By midsummer they have often increased so 
enormously as to cover all the twigs of infested trees, 
making them appear filtliy and unsightl}^ as well as 
impairing their vitality by extracting the sap. A single 
one of the aphides hatched from the egg in spring may 
become the ancestor of many millions before autumn. 
But in October a true sexed generation develops, the 
males being winged and the females wingless. By the 
union of these two, the true eggs are obtained. 

The wingless forms, whether viviparous or ovipa- 
rous, do not differ materially in appearance. The ovi- 
parous, or egg-laying, form is about one-fifth of an inch 
long, bluish black in color, with a glaucous bloom. It 
has a distinct white longitudinal line along the middle 
of the back, and a row of white spots along each side. 
The cornicles, or honey tubes, are bright orange-yellow. 
The male is one-fifth of an inch long, with a wing ex- 
panse of one-third of an inch. The body is blnish black, 
with the wings transparent and their veins yellowish 
brown. 

The oyiparous females congregate for the purpose 
of depositing their eggs in one or a few places on the 
tree, where they cover the bark with them. The egg is 
about one-twentieth of an inch long and oval in form ; 
when first laid it is covered with a liquid which on ex- 
posure to the air dries into a thin, grayish, irregular 
covering, suggestive of felt. 

Remedies. — Spray with kerosene emulsion; cut 
off and burn the limbs on which the eggs are laid. 



THE WHITE PINE APHIS 193 

The Toothed Willow Aphis 

Lachnus dentatus 

This is the largest of the aphides affecting the wil- 
low, being in fact one of the largest known species of 
this family. The wingless forms are one-fourth of an 
inch long. Its life history is much like that of the 
spotted willow aphis described above, except that it pre- 
fers the trunk and larger limbs to the twigs. The sexed 
individuals appear in autumn, and the eggs are probably 
laid upon the bark. The species is characterized by a 
large tooth-like tubercle on the middle of the back of 
the abdomen. 

Remedies. — A strong kerosene emulsion sprayed 
upon the bark will destroy these creatures. 

The White-pine Aphis 

Lachmis stroM 

This insect is a widely distributed species, and on 
account of its egg-laying habits it is liable to be intro- 
duced everywhere with pine trees from nurseries. It 
frequently becomes so numerous as to do serious injury 
to white i^ines in ornamental grounds. 

Like most plant lice, this species reproduces vivi- 
parously, or by giving birth to living young, during the 
summer, but on the approach of cold weather the sexual 
individuals are produced. During October these are 
usually the only forms present, the oviparous females 
being congregated in great numbers ui3on the bark of 
the smaller branches, with their heads nearly always 
directed towards the trunk of the tree. When disturbed 
they move about rapidly, usually attempting to conceal 
themselves on the other side of the branch. At such 
times they also have a curious habit of waving their 
13 



194 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



long hind legs in the air, probably for the purpose of 
frightening away predaceous or parasitic enemies. 

The oviparous female is represented, much magni- 
fied, at Fig. 97. It is nearly one-fifth of an inch long, 
shining black more or less tinged with brown, and orna- 
mented with spots and stripes 
of white. The wingless vivipa- 
rous females do not differ essen- 
tially from this form. The 
winged male is about one-eighth 
of an inch long, with a wing ex- 
panse of a quarter of an inch. 
It is blackish, with a slight 
glaucous bloom, and a whitish 
longitudinal line along the mid- 
dle of the back. The wings are 
subhyaline, with the veins dark 
brown, and the stigma almost 
black. The antennae and legs 

FIG. 97. WHITE-PINE APHIS. •, n • rrn 

Oviparous female. Magni-are quitc hairy. The eggs are 

fieci. dejDOsited during October and 

November, on the leaflets, in rows. Each egg is not 

quite one-tenth of an inch long, elongate-oval, brownish 

when first laid, but becoming black in a short time. 

Remedies. — Kerosene emulsion is the most effec- 
tive insecticide with which to combat this insect. It 
should be sprayed upon the infested trees early in the 
season, before the aphides become too abundant. The 
best time to apply it would be just after the young lice 
hatch from the eggs ; they are then very tender and 
easily killed. 




THE WOOLLY ALDER APHIS 195 

The Woolly Alder Aphis 

Pemphigus tessellata 

In the Eastern States one may often see upon the 
branches of alders a peculiar white woolly growth, re- 
sembling that shown on Plate XI. This white sub- 
stance develops upon the bodies of a peculiar plant louse 
that lives upon the alder stems. Like other aphides 
these insects reproduce by giving birth to Hviug young, 
by which means they are able to increase very rapidly. 
In autumn vast numbers of young are born ; they crawl 
down the stems to the ground where they congregate in 
enormous numbers in the crevices between the base of 
the trunk and larger roots and the soil, or beneath the 
fallen leaves or other rubbish at the soil surface. Here 
they remain until spring, when they take advantage of 
the first warm days to crawl up the trunk to the twigs, 
where they establish colonies on the young growth. 
Each aphis inserts its beak into the bark and sucks out 
the sap. At the same time they produce on their backs 
a white pulverulence which forms a protective covering. 
In a week or two they mature and begin giving birth to 
living young, and thereafter during the season one gen- 
eration is produced after another until cold weather. 
No sexual forms of this species have yet been found. 

There are usually to be found associated with the 
colonies the peculiar black excrescences represented in 
Plate XI. This is due to a fungus which develops on 
the abundant juices — the so-called honeydew — excreted 
by the aphides. 

Remedies. — In case it was desired to get rid of 
these insects on alder in parks or private grounds it 
could easily be done by spraying the bare stems and the 
ground beneath in early spring with a strong kerosene 
emulsion. 



INSECTS AFFECTING SHADE TREES 



INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Cecropia Emperor floth 

Platysmnia cecropia 

People are often puzzled during winter over large, 
peculiar, grayish -brown cocoons (Fig. 99) that occur 
not infrequently on the limbs of maple, apple, pear, 
cherry, and a great variety of fruit and shade trees. 




FIG. 98. CECROPIA CATEKPILLAR. ^ 

These are the cocoons of one of the largest.and hand- 
somest American insects-— the cecropia emperor moth, 
illustrated, natural size, at Plate XII. This moth often 
measures six or seven inches across the front wings, the 
ground color of all the wings being a grizzled, dusky 
brown, with the hind margins clay-colored; near the 
middle of each wing there is an opaque, kidney-shaped, 
dull-red spot, having a white center and a narrow black 
edging, and beyond the spot there is a Avavy, reddish 
band bordered internally with white. The fore wings, 

197 



198 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



next to the shoulders, are dull red with a curved, white 
band, and near the tips of the same is an eye-like black 
spot within a bluish-white crescent. The upper sides of 
the body and the legs are reddish ; the fore part of the 
thorax and the hinder edges of the rings of the abdo- 
men are white ; the under surface of the body is check- 
ered with red and white. 

The moths come forth from the cocoons in June 
and deposit their eggs on the various kinds of trees upon 
which the larvae live. About a week later the eggs 
hatch into small, spiny caterpillars, that devour the 
foliage and rapidly increase in size. They are very vora- 




FIG. 99. COCOON OF CECROPIA MOTH. 

cious, and reach maturity late in summer. They are 
then (Fig. 98) often over three inches long, as thick as 
a man's thumb, and have, along the back, rows of large, 
coral-red tubercles. Early in autumn they spin their 
silken cocoons, within which they change to dark-brown 
pupae, remaining in this condition until the following 
summer, when they come forth as moths to lay eggs for 
another brood. 

There are several species of parasites that prey upon 
the cecropia caterpillars. On this account they only 
occasionally become injurious. 

Remedies. — By spraying with the arsenites, or 
hand-picking the larvae or cocoons, this insect may be 
easily checked when it threatens to become destructive. 



THE WHITE MAEKED TUSSOCK MOTH 199 

The White=marked Tussock Moth 

Orgyia leucostigma 

This insect is one of the most destructive leaf -eating 
caterpillars, and during recent years has done mucli 
damage in many cities and villages. The larva feeds 
upon the foliage of a great variety of fruit and shade 
trees. 

If the trunks or larger limbs of maple, apple, elm, 
or any other of the trees infested by this insect, be ex- 
amined any time in autumn or winter, after the leaves 
have fallen, one may find scattered here and there upon 
the bark thin gray cocoons, many of which will be cov- 
ered with large bunches of spherical white eggs, fastened 




FIG. 100. CATERPILLAR OF WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH. 

together by a protecting froth-like mass. In May, soon 
after the leaves come out, these eggs hatch into small 
caterpillars, which at once begin eating the foliage about 
them. They continue to devour it for six or seven 
weeks, when they become full-grown. They are then 
very handsome (Fig. 100) and measure a little over an 
inch. The general color is bright yellow. The head 
and two tubercle-like projections on the hinder portion 
of the back are of a bright coral-red. There are four 
cream-colored tufts of hair along the back. Two long 
black plumes project forw^ard from just behind the sides 
of the head, and another projects backward from the 



200 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



l^osterior end of the body. About the middle of July 
the caterpillars spin thin, whitish cocoons upon the 
rougher bark, and about a fortnight later come forth as 
moths. These lay eggs for a second brood, which com- 
pletes its transformations before winter sets in. The 
pupa of the female (Fig. 101, c) is larger than that of 
the male {d). The male moth differs greatly from the 
female moth, the former being winged (e), while the 
latter is wingless (a). The female crawls upon the top 




FIG. 101. WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH. Ct, female UlOlll Oil cocooii ; 
b, young larvu liaiiging by thread; c, female pupa; d, male jjupa; 
e, male moth. 

of the cocoon (a) as soon as she emerges from the puj^al 
state, where, after mating with the male, she dej)osits 
her eggs in a single mass and dies. 

Remedies. — The increase of this insect is greatly 
checked by several parasitic enemies, nearly a dozen 
species of two-winged and four-winged flies being known 
to 23rey upon it. The caterpillars may be destroyed by 
spraying the infested trees with the arsenites — Paris 
green or London purple ; or the egg masses may be 
picked off the bark in winter. 



THE FALL WEBWORM 



201 



The Fall Webworm 

HypTiantria cunea 
The work of few insects is more universally known 
than that of the fall webworm. Late in summer and 
early in autumn the conspicuous, unsightly webs of this 
pest may be seen in nearly every orchard and hedgerow 
over a large portion of the United States. The adult is 
a pretty, white moth (Fig. 102), which deposits eggs on 
the leaves of various trees early in summer. These soon 
hatch into youug caterpillars that begin at once to spin 
a protective web. 
The young worms 
are of a pale yellow 
color, sparsely cov- 
ered with hairs, and 
have a black head 
and two rows of 
black marks upon 
the body. They 
feed upon the par- 
enchyma of the fo- FIG. 102. FALL AVEnwOKM. a, larva ; 6, pupa ; 

liage, leaving the c.motn. 

network of veins, and grow quite rapidly, enlarging the 
web as they develop. By the time they are full-grown 
a single lot of them will destroy the foliage of a good- 
sized" branch, making it very conspicuous on account of 
the web-like covering. At this lime the larvae are a 
little more than an inch long {a), with the body densely 
clothed with yellowish hairs. They now leave their 
nests and descend to the ground, where just beneath the 
surface, or under some suitable shelter above the surface, 
they spin slight, silken cocoons within which they 
change to the chrysalis state. At the North there is 
but one brood each year, but in the Southern States 
there are two. 




202 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Remedies. — The webs of this insect are so con- 
spicuous that it is an easy matter to cut them off and 
burn or crush the larvae. This is a simple remedy, and 
the earlier it is done the better. The pest may also be 
destroyed by spraying with London purple or Paris 
green when the larvas are young. 

The Imported Elm=leaf Beetle 

Galeruca xanthomelcena 

During the recent years this insect has been exceed- 
ingly destructive in many cities of the Eastern States to 
that loveliest of shade trees — the elm. It has long been 
known in the Old World, having been especially injuri- 
ous in France and Germany, and is supposed to have 
been imported into America during the early part of the 
present century. The eggs (Fig. 103, a) are laid on the 
underside of the leaf in two or three rows, each grou^i 
consisting of from five to twenty eggs. At e in the fig- 
are they are shown considerably magnified, and as will 
bfe seen they are very close together, and fastened se- 
curely to the leaf. In about a week the larvae hatch and 
begin eating the leaves, causing them to look as if rid- 
dled with fine shot. They become fully grown {g) in 
two or three weeks, when they descend to the ground, 
and, finding some convenient shelter, change to pupae 
(y). Ten days later the perfect beetles {n, natural size ; 
h, magnified) come forth and eat the leaves, although 
the damage done by the insect in this beetle state is 
much less than that done by the young, growing larvae. 
There are three or four broods each season, and the 
beetles pass the winter in whatever shelter they can find, 
especially congregating in hollow trees, and under old 
leaves. 

Remedies. — This pest can be held in check by 
spraying with London purple or Paris green (4 ozs. to 



THE IMPORTED ELM LEAF BEETLE 



203 



50 gals, water). The application should be made when 
the eggs are being laid, in order to kill the larvae before 
they have done any damage. The addition of a little 




FIG. 103. ELM-LEAF BEETLE, a, eggs ; b, larvae; c, beetle— an natural 
size ; e, eggs ; g, larva; j, pupa ; k, beetle ; eto k magnified. 

flour to the poison mixture seems to render it more ef- 
fective. To reach the tops of high trees a pump of con- 
siderable power is required. 



204: 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Bagworm 

Thyridopteryx ephemercBformis 

The twigs of various deciduous and coniferous trees 
are often infested during the winter months by small 
bags or sacs (of the form shown at Fig. 104, e) suspended 
to the leaves or branches. If one of the larger of these 
bags be cut open, there will be found within it a brown, 
membranous shell (the pupa case of the moth) filled 




FIG. 104. BAGWOKM. o, larva; b, male pupa ; c, female moth ; d, male 
moth; e, bag and pupa case cut open to show eggs; /, full-grown 
larva with bag; g, young larvse with their conical coverings. 

with many small yellow eggs (e). In this condition the 
bagworm or basket worm passes the winter. Late in 
spring the larvae hatch, and at once form little cases of 
fragments of leaves fastened together by silken threads. 
Beneath these cases {g) they feed upon the foliage, en- 
larging them as the larvas develop, and during later life 
using bits of twigs or stems in their construction, in- 
stead of leaf particles^ The full-grown larva is repre- 
sented in its bag at /, and without it at a. When fully 



THE BAGWORM 



205 



developed the worms descend to the earth by means of 
silken threads, and crawl about until they reach the 
bases of other trees, which they ascend. This is the 
way the species migrates. The larvae pupate within the 
cases, and about three weeks later change to moths. 




FIG. 105. 



BAGWORM CASES ON TEEES. a, red cedar; b, maple; c, 
arbor vitse; d, spruce; e, white pine. 



The two sexes of the moths differ greatly, the male (104, 
d) having well-developed wings, while the female (c) is 
wingless. The latter deposits her eggs in the empty 
pupa case from which she has emerged, and falls to the 
ground, where soon afterward she dies. 



206 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

The bagworm feeds upon a great variety of trees, 
and apparently prefers coniferous to deciduous sorts. 
Red cedar and arbor vitae are esjDecially subject to attack. 
Its injuries are sometimes very severe on shade trees in 
city streets and j^nblic parks. There are several para- 
sitic insects that prey ujion the larvae. 

Remedies. — The simplest remedy for this insect is 
that of spraying with London purple or Paris green. 
This should be done in early summer when the worms 
are young. Effective work also can be done, according 
to Dr. Riley, *^' during the winter time or when the trees 
are bare. The bags which contain the hibernating eggs, 
and which are very easily detected then, may be gathered 
or pruned and burned. Tliis work may be so easily 
done that there is no excuse for the increase of this spe- 
cies. Where intelligent action is possible, the bags 
were better collected and heaped together in some open 
enclosure away from trees, rather than burned. By this 
means most of the parasites will m time escape, while 
the young bagworms, which will in time hatch, and 
which have feeble traveling power, must needs perish 
from inability to reach proper food." 

The Qreen=striped Maple Worm 

Anisota riibicunda . 

In many Western States maple trees are regularly 
defoliated by a large caterpillar, alternptely striped with 
light yellowish -green and dark-green, having two long, 
black horns on the second segment behind the head, 
and other similar but shorter horns on the posterior seg- 
ments (Fig. 106, a). This is the green-striped maple 
worm. It is the larva of a handsome, yellowish-pink 
moth (c), sometimes called the rosy Dryocampa. These 
moths appear early in summer, and lay their eggs on 
the undersides of the ma2:)le leaves in clusters varying 



THE GREEN STRIPED MAPLE WORM 



207 



from forty to eighty each. The larvae hatch in a week 
or ten days, and feed upon the foliage, being gregarious 
at first, but gradually spreading as they grow older. In 
a few weeks they become fully developed as larvae, hav- 
mg molted four times, when they descend to the 
ground, where, just beneath the soil surface, they change 
to dark-brown pupae (b). About a fortnight later they 
come forth as moths again. These moths, which usu- 
ally appear during July or August, lay eggs for a second 
brood of larvae that develop during late summer or early 




FIG. 106. GREEN-STRIPED MAPLE WORM, a, laiva; b, pupa; c, moth. 

autumn, and pass the winter as pupae, emerging as moths 
the following summer. 

The second brood of larvae are much more numer- 
ous, and consequently more destructive, than the first. 
Although maple forms the favorite food plant of the 
insect, it is occasionally found upon oaks and a few other 
trees. The larvae are preyed upon by various insectiv- 
orous birds, and by several insect parasites. 

Remedies.— Spraying with London purple or 
Paris green early in the season, just after the worms 
hatch, is the most effective remedy for this insect. 



208 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Walnut Caterpillar 

Datana angusii 

The leaves of walnut and butternut trees are fre- 
quently eaten during summer by a large, blackish cater- 
pillar. This is the larva of a good-sized moth that 
makes its appearance from the middle of June to the 
first of July, and deposits its eggs, seventy to a hundred 
m a place, on the under surface of the leaves. In a 




FIG. 107. YELLOW-NECKED APPLE WORM, a, iaiva ; b, moth ; c, eggs— 
aU natural size; d, egg, magnified. 

short time the larvae hatch and begin feeding upon the 
foliage. They increase rapidly in size, and in a few 
weeks attract attention on account of the defoliated 
twigs where they have been at work. They are gregari- 
ous in habit, and at the times of molting, or casting of 
tlie skin, they migrate in a body to tlie trunk of the tree, 
frequently descending nearly to its base, and, piling 
themselves one upon another, remain in a solid mass 
until the process is completed. Then they crawl back 
to the twigs and begin feeding again. When fully grown 
as caterpillars, they go to the ground and change to the 
pupal state, just beneath the soil surface. Here they 
remain until early the following summer, when they 
emerge as moths to lay eggs for another brood. 



THE WOOLLY MAPLE BARK LOUSE 209 

A fair idea of the appearance of the walnut cater- 
pillar and its moth may be obtained from Fig. 107, 
which represents a closely related insect — the yellow- 
necked apple-tree caterpillar. When at rest or alarmed 
the larvse assume the peculiar position represented at a. 
These caterpillars are preyed upon by certain birds, 
notably the blue jay and red-headed woodpecker, and by 
various species of insect parasites. 

Remedies. — These defoliators may be destroyed 
by spraying their food plants with Paris green or London 
purple, or the larvae may be crushed when gathered into 
heaps on the trunk at molting time. 

The Woolly Maple=bark Louse 

Pulvinaria t?inumdraMUs 

The presence of this insect is manifested in the 
spring and early summer by the occurrence upon the 
twigs of maple trees, especially on the underside, of a 
brown, circular, leathery scale, about one-quarter of an 
inch in diameter, beneath which is a peculiar, fluffy, 
cottony mass (Fig. 108, a). In the spring there may be 
found in each of these masses great numbers (from 700 
to 1000) of small, white, spherical eggs. Early in sum- 
mer these eggs hatch into young lice, which scatter over 
the trees, wandering about on the'twigs and leaves for a 
few days, and, finally, fixing themselves upon the lower 
leaf surface, insert their tiny beaks and suck out the sap. 
They remain in this position several weeks, when a few 
of them become fully developed winged males. These 
mate with the remainder, which are females, and soon 
die. But the females remain upon the leaves until 
nearly time for them to fall in autumn, when they de- 
sert them and migrate to the twigs, attaching themselves 
by inserting their beaks into the bark. Here they re- 
14 



210 



INSECTS AN-D INSECTICIDES 



main until the following season, the eggs gradually de- 
veloping and being deposited during spring. 

These insects sometimes do great damage to maple 
trees. They excrete or secrete a peculiar liquid which 
falls upon the leaves and the ground beneath the trees, 
and Avhich is sometimes called "honeydew." There are 
a large number of parasitic and predaceous insects that 




FIG. 108. MAPLE-BAKK LOUSE, a, cottoiiy scales on twigs; b, back 
view of scale, magnified; c, ventral view of scale, more magnified. 

prey upon this species and suppress its periodical 
uprisings. 

Remedies. — In cities where a stream of water from 
hose connected with waterworks is available, the trees 
can be largely cleared of the pests by repeated drench- 
ings. In the spring before the eggs hatch, and also 
while the young lice are crawling over the tree, soon 
after hatching, is the best time for this work. The 



THE BOX ELDER BUG. 211 

young lice may also be easily destroyed by spraying with 
kerosene emulsion. This should be done in June, soon 
after they hatch. 

The Box=elder Bug 

Leptocoris trivittaUis 

In the region west of the Missouri riyer this insect 
is extremely abundant, causing serious injury to the 
box elder, and occasionally, also, to ash, maple, and 
other trees. The adult (Fig. 109) is a dull-black bug 
about half an inch long, having blood red ocelli, and 
various red markings on the wings and 
body. " During the winter," according 
to Professor E. A. Popenoe, who has 
studied the insect carefully, '^the adults 
are hidden in sheltered nooks and cor- 
ners everywhere, but are especially abun- 
dant in crevices of stone walls and angles 
of stone buildings, on the south sides of 
which they appear, singly and in clusters, 
every warm day during the season. As 
soon as the increasing warmth of spring ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ 
allows, they leave these shelters and seek elder bug. 
the trees attacked by them. The eggs Magnified, 
are laid in creases of the bark, on the trunk and twigs. 
After midsummer their gregarious tendency is manifested 
in the flocking of bugs of all sizes and in great numbers, 
in lines up and down the trunks and branches, the com- 
pany including larvae of all sizes, pupae, and fully ma- 
tured individuals. This habit persists more or less com- 
pletely until October and November, or until the trees 
are bare. During the warm days of Indian summer the 
bugs fly everywhere, flocking to the warm sides of the 
buildings, and entering houses, where, though otherwise 
harmless, they become troublesome through their abun- 




212 INSECTS ANL) INSECTICIDES 

dance and propensity to fall clumsily into pails of water, 
crocks of milk, and other articles of food left uncovered." 

This insect, like all true bugs, is active during its 
entire existence, and gets its food by sucking sap through 
a sharp-pointed beak which is inserted into the bark of 
the succulent twigs, and also into the leaves. It has 
comparatively few natural enemies. 

Remedies. — These bugs may easily be destroyed 
when gathered in clusters on trees or walls by pouring 
boiling water, gasoline or kerosene upon them. 

The Gypsy Moth 

Ocneria dispar 

The gypsy moth is one of the most troublesome in- 
sects in Europe. It feeds on an extraordinary variety 

of plants, attacking almost 
everything, and is difficult 
to destroy by natural or 
artificial means. As is well 
known, it was introduced 
into the vicinity of Boston 
twent3^-five years ago and 
• has since become very de- 
FiG. no. GYPSY MOTH. Male, structivc in that region. 
In 1891 the legislature of Massachusetts established a 
commission for the extermination of the insect, and 
has since appropriated a large amount of money 
to carry on the work, which has already checked 
the outbreak to a remarkable degree. It is much 
to be hoped that the work will be continued unabated 
for several years. 

There is an idea somewhat prevalent that this insect 
could be exterminated by importing parasites, but this 
is fallacious. In my opinion it would be a great mis- 
take to abandon the work of extermination and leave it 




THE GYPSY MOTH 213 

to be done by parasites. Under the most favorable con- 
ditions there could only result a long series of oscilla- 
tions in the numbers of the moths, in which periods of 
destruction would alternate with periods of immunity. 




FIG. 111. GYPSY MOTH. Female. 



The later stages of the g3^sy moth are illustrated 
in the accompanying figures. The male moths are 
much smaller than the females. *'The full-grown cat- 
erpillar is about an inch and three-fourths in length. 




FIG. 112. GYPSY-MOTH CATERPILLAR. 

very dark brown or black, finely reticulated with pale 
yellow. There is a pale yellow line along the middle of 
the back and a similar one along each side. On the 
first six segments following the head there is a bluish 



214 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

tubercle, armed with several black spines on eacli side 
of the dorsal line, and on the remaining segments these 
tubercles are dark crimson-red. In tlie middle of the 
tenth and eleventh segments there is a smallei' red tuber- 
cle notched at the top. The whole surface of the body 




FIG. 113. CHllYSALIS OF GYPSY MOTH. 

is somewhat hairy, Init along each side the hairs are 
long and form quite dense clusters." 

Various methods of controlling this pest are in use 
in Massachusetts. The most important are those of 
spraying with arsenate of lead to kill the young cater- 
pillars, and the mechanical destruction of the eggs. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE ROSE 



INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Rose Slug 

Monostegia rosce 

This insect is familiar to most lovers of the queen 
of flowers, and is justly dreaded on account of its serious 
injuries. But no one should allow it to prevent the 
planting and enjoyment of roses, for it is easy to keep 
the pest in check. 

The rose slug is the young or larva of a four-winged 
sawfly, related to the parent of the pear-tree slug and 
the imported currant worm. It bears a general resem- 
blance to the adult pear-tree slug. The larv^ shown in 
Fig. 114 will serve to illustrate the appearance and 
mode of work of the rose slug. According to Dr. Har- 
ris, the parent sawflies, in the latitude of Massachusetts, 
*^come out of the ground at various times between the 
20th of May and the middle of June, during which season 
they pair and lay their eggs. The females when about 
to lay their eggs turn a little to one side, unsheath their 
saws, and thrust them obliquely into the skin of the 
leaf, depositing in each incision thus made a single Qgg. 
The young begin to hatch in ten days or a fortnight 
after the eggs are laid. The period of their existence in 
the caterpillar state probably does not exceed three 
weeks. They have a small, round, yellowish head, with 
a black dot on each side of it, and are provided with 

215 




216 lifSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

twenty-two short legs. The body is green above, paler 
at the sides, and is soft and almost transj^arent, like 
jelly. The skin of the back is transversely wrinkled, and 
covered with minute elevated points ; and there are two 
small, trijile-pointed warts on the edge of the first ring, 
immediately behind the head. These gelatinous and 
sluggish creatures eat the upper surface of the leaf in 
large, irregular patches, leaving the veins and skin be- 
neath untouched ; and they are sometimes so thick that 
not a leaf on the bushes is spared by them, and the 

whole foliage looks 
as if it had been 
scorched by fire and 
drops off soon after- 
wards. They cast 
their skins several 
FIG. 114. PEAR TREE SLUG. tlmcs, Icavlug thcm 

extended and fastened to the leaves ; and after the last 
molting they lose their semi-transparent and greenish 
color, and acquire an opaque, yellowish hue. They 
then leave the bushes and burrow an inch or more in 
the earth, where each one makes for itself a small, oval 
cell of grains of earth, cemented with a little gummy 
silk." They remain in these pupa cells until the fol- 
lowing season, when they emerge as flies. 

There are two other species of slugs affecting the 
rose, and in some places these are more abundant than 
the one here described. An account of their habits may 
be found in the Eeport of the U. S. Department of Ag- 
riculture for 1892, p. 161. The same remedial meas- 
ures apply to all three sj^ecies. 

Remedies. — In cities where a stream of water from 
a sprinkling hose is always available, the simplest plan 
of keeping these pests away is to spray the bushes forci- 
bly every day or two, to frighten away the flies and 
wash off the larvae. If this ])rocess is gone through 



THE KOSE LEAF HOPPER 



217 



with sufficient; force and thoroughness, it is the neatest 
and best remedy. The slugs also may be easily killed by 
spraying or dusting the infested bushes with hellebore 
or insect powder. 

The Rose=leaf Hopper 

TypJilocyda rosce 

Owners of rose bushes are frequently annoyed by 
finding the lower sides of the leaves covered with a small 
white insect that sucks out the cell contents and gives 
the upper surfaces a 
peculiar white-spot- 
ted appearance. 
This is the rose-leaf 
hopper, a species that 
has been known to 
injure these lovely 
ornamental plants for 
nearly a century. 

The adult, shown J^ ^f^f |^ '®j|^ 1 

considerably magni- 
fied at Fig. 115, a, a b 
is a little more than fig. iis. rose-leaf hopper, a, adult; b, 
one-tenth of an inch P"P''^- Magnified, 
long, with a yellowish-white body, and white, semi-trans- 
jiarent wing covers. In common with other leaf hop- 
pers this insect has long hind legs, by means of which it 
is enabled to make tremendously long leaps when dis- 
turbed. The fully grown nymph {h) is also whitish, and 
its back is well protected by numerous long spinous hairs. 
There are said to be several broods each season. 

Remedies. — These little pests are much easier to 
destroy before they are fully developed than afterwards. 
Spraying or dusting the infested plants with pyrethrum 
or insect powder is a simple and efficient remedy. To- 
bacco, in the form either of a powder or a decoction, is 
also good ; and kerosene emulsion will destroy the pests. 




INSECTS AFFECTING FLOWERS IN THE 

WINDOW GARDEN AND 

GREENHOUSE 



INJURING THE LEAVES 



Plant Lice or Aphides 

There are many different species of aphides, plant 
lice, or ^'^ green flies," affecting the various flowering 
plants. But all are quite similar in life history and 

habits,and the same 
remedies apply to 
each. They all mul- 
tiply with marvel- 
lous rapidity on ac- 
count of their habit 
of giving birth to 
living young, with- 
out the presence of 
male aphides. They 
FIG. 116. APHIS, a, windless form, magnified ; ^nature rapidly, and 

b, winged form, magnified; c, same, nat- "^ ^' 

uraisize. obtain food by in- 

serting their pointed beaks into the stem or leaf, and suck- 
ing out the sap. There are generally two forms of them, 
one being winged (Fig. 116, h, c) and the other wing- 
less {a). These insects are the commonest pests of 
flowering plants. 

Remedies. — Tobacco is the great specific for these 
insects. It may be used in various forms, but generally 
the most satisfactory form is that of the refuse powder 
218 




THE RED SPIDER 219 

of the cigar factories. This should be used freely as a 
mulch for low-growing plants, such as the daisy ; and if 
blown upon infested plants, having first sprayed them 
with water, by means of a powder bellows or Leggett's 
powder gun, it will clear them readily. In greenhouses 
tobacco stems are commonly used to smoke the plants. 
A few live coals are put upon a shovel, or into a metal 
bucket, and refuse tobacco stems are laid upon them. 
The house is then tightly closed and the smoke allowed 
to remain several hours. The greatest objection to this 
method is that tender plants are liable to be seriously 
injured by an overdose of the smoke. The tobacco 
may also be used in the form of a decoction, made hj 
pouring hot Avater on the stems, allowing it to cool, and 
then drawing off the liquid. This may be sprayed upon 
the plants, or, where not too large, the plants may be 
dipped into the liquid. For window gardens this is per- 
haps as satisfactory a method as can be suggested. 

The Red Spider 

Tetranychns telarius 

Greenhouse plants are often seriously injured by 
multitudes of very minute reddish mites that congregate 
on the lower leaf surface, spinning a very fine protective 
web, and sucking out the juices of the plants through 
their infinitesimal beaks. These little creatures are 
commonly called red spiders. They are distantly related 
to ordinary spiders, and like them have, when fully de- 
veloped, four pairs of legs. They multiply beneath their 
silken webs, where one may find colonies of individuals 
(so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye) in 
all stages of existence. The young have but three pairs 
of legs. The Qg^ is very small and spherical, being 
nearly colorless. The infested leaves assume a yellowish 
hue, and many of them finally drop off. 



220 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Remedies. — The red spider flourishes best in a 
dry atmosphere. It is seldom troublesome in green- 
houses where the air is kept saturated with moisture and 
the plants are sprayed with water every day. In window 
gardens the plants should be sprayed with soapsuds, 
tobacco decoction or kerosene emulsion, or dusted with 
fine tobacco powder or insect powder, as soon as they 
shoAv signs of the presence of this pest^ 

Mealy Bugs and Scale Lice 

Mealy bugs are among the commonest and most 
vexatious greenhouse pests. They occur u23on a great 
yariety of plants, and reproduce freely throughout the 
year. There are two or three species commonly found 
in this country, the most destructive, perhaps, being the 
species called by entomologists Dactylopitis adonithwi, 
Avhich is distinguished by two long, white, cottony 
threads extending backward from the last segment of 
the abdomen. Another common species is called Dac- 
tylopius destructor. 

Mealy bugs derive their common name from a pe- 
culiar yellowish-white substance, resembling flour or 
meal, which they throw out from numerous minute 
pores along the sides of their bodies. This serves both 
as a protection from enemies, and also as a place of con- 
cealuient for the eggs of the insects. 

Woody greenhouse plants, such as the oleander, 
orange, abutilon, etc., are also often infested with scale 
insects that occur upon the stems, sucking out the sap 
and so absorbing the vitality of the plants. These be- 
long to the same family of insects as the mealy bugs, to 
which they bear a general resemblance in life history 
and habits. 

Remedies. — When a plant is once badly infested 
with either of these pests it can be cleared only by thor- 



MEALY BUGS AND SCALE LICE 221 

ough and careful work. As many should be rubbed or 
brushed off by hand as possible, and then the plant may 
be sprayed with kerosene emulsion, which, however, 
should be used with caution on the more tender varie- 
ties of greenhouse plants. It is not necessary to treat 
the whole plant, but only the parts infested by the in- 
sect. In case only a few mealy bugs are present they 
may be killed by dipping a small brush in alcohol and 
then saturating the colonies of the insect with it. Or 
the affected 2:>art of the plant may be washed with a 
forcible stream of water till all signs of the insects or 
their eggs are removed. Professor Comstock reports an 
experiment in which equal parts of smoking tobacco and 
flowers of sulphur were ground together in a mortar 
until thoroughly mixed, and the compound thus formed 
was dusted over wet infested plants, and the mealy bugs 
destroyed. 

Out of doors, and to a certain extent in the green- 
house also, these mealy bugs and scale insects have vari- 
ous natural enemies to contend with. Chief among 
these are the little ladybugs and certain parasitic flies. 



Insects affecting vegetables 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE TOMATO 



INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Tomato Worm 

Protoparce celeus 

This insect in its larval state is familiar to every- 
one who has owned a garden. The moths, which be- 
long to the handsome sphinx family, appear early in 
summer, and fly about just at dusk, sipping the nectar 
from various flowers through their long tongues or suck- 
ing tubes. Their general appearance is well illustrated 




FIG. 117. PUPA OF TOMATO WORM. 

at Plate XIII. The ground color of the body and wings is 
gray, and there are various dots and stripes of different 
shades. On each side of the abdomen are five orange- 
colored spots. The female moths lay the eggs in the 
evening on tomato plants, where they soon hatch into 
green worms that feed voraciously on the foliage. These 
caterpillars grow rapidly, and in a few weeks become 
three inches long and nearly as thick as a man's finger. 
They are light green, with several oblique, whitish stripes 
along each side of the body ; sometimes brown specimens 
are found. Early in September, in the Northern States, 
these caterpillars complete their larval growth, and bur- 
15 225 



226 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



row into the gronnd some distance, where they form 
oval cells in the soil, shed tlieir larval skins, and change 
to pupae. The pupa or chrysalis (Fig. 117) is of chest- 
nut-brown color, with a long and slender tongue case 
bent over like the handle of a jug. They remain in this 
state until the following summer, when they come forth 
as moths. Besides the leaves, the caterpillars often feed 
upon the green fruit of the tomato, as well as upon the 
foliage of the potato and tobacco. 

There is another species similar to this one, and 
often confounded with it. The life history and habits 
of the two are much alike. The moth of the other one 




FIG. 118. TOMATO WORM WITH COCOONS OF PARASITE. 

is called the Carolina sphinx (Protoparce Carolina). In 
the Southern States, and even as far north as Central 
Ohio, there are two broods each season. 

The tomato worm is subject to the attacks of a 
small, four- winged black fly that deposits eggs beneath 
its skin along the back. The eggs hatch into little mag- 
gots that absorb the body juices of the worm, develop- 
ing at its expense, and finally coming out upon its back, 
where they spin white, silken cocoons (Fig. 118), within 



THE TOMATO WORM 227 

which they change to pupas. Shortly afterward they 
again change to flics that gnaw out of the cocoons and 
fly away to continue the work of destruction. The cat- 
erpillar lingers awhile in a half -dead condition, and 
finally dies. 

Remedies. — Hand-picking the worms is the most 
effective remedy for garden patches. Their depredations 
are so conspicuous that it is generally easy to find them. 
The moths may be destroyed (and consequently the de- 
position of eggs prevented) by smearing flat boards in 
various parts of the field with molasses mixed with stale 
beer, to which a little fly poison has been added. The 
boards should be a foot or two from the ground. Another 
method which is especially recommended for killing the 
moths in tobacco fields, is to plant, at occasional inter- 
vals in the field, seed of Jamestown weed (Datura stra- 
monium) about the time the tobacco is put out. These 
will come in blossom when the moths appear. If a little 
fly poison, mixed with sweetened water and whiskey, be 
poured in the long blossoms each evening, the moths 
that sip the liquid will be killed. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE POTATO 



INJURING THE STEM 

The Potato=stalk Weevil 

Triclioharis trinotata 

Potato stems are sometimes infested by a whitish or 
yellowish- white, footless grub, about a quarter of an 
inch long, which burrows in the heart of the stalk, espe- 
cially near the ground, and causes the plant to wilt and 
die. This is the larva of a small, grayish snout beetle, 
called the potato-stalk weevil, the females of which de- 
posit their eggs, singly, in a slit made for the purpose 

in the stem, slightly 
above the soil surface. 
In a few days the egg 
hatches into a little 
grub that burro w s 
down the center of the 
stem toward the root. 

FIG. 119. POTATO-STALK WEEVIL. A fCW WCCks latCr, Stlll 

a, larva; 6, pupa; c, beetle. Magnified, ^.-^i^jj^ ^j^g S^^j]^ ^^^ 

slightly below the surface of the ground, the larva pu- 
pates, and late in summer or early in autumn it emerges 
as an adult weevil. This weevil passes the winter under 
whatever protective covering it may find, and the follow- 
ing season starts another generation by depositing its 
eggs in the potato stalks. 

The injuries of this insect are sometimes quite se- 
vere. In Iowa, during the season of 1890, Professor 
C. P. Gillette estimated that seventy-five per cent, of 

228 




THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE 229 

the potato plants were infested by it. It is a widely 
distributed species. 

Remedies. — According to Professor Gillette, ^Hhe 
only remedy at " present known is to pull the vines as 
soon as they are found wilting and burn them. If the 
tops are left until it is time to dig the potatoes many of 
the beetles will liave matured and escaped, and these 
will live over winter and lay eggs for another brood." 
But even late pulling and burning will destroy many of 
the pests, and in regions where this insect is known to 
be at work, the vines should be burned when pulled up 
in harvesting the crop. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Colorado Potato Beetle 

Doryphora decemlineata 

This insect originally lived upon a wild variety of 
Solanum (tlie genus to which the cultivated potato be- 
longs) in the West, near the base of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. It was not known as an injurious species until 
about 1860, when it attacked potatoes in the gardens of 
settlers in Kansas and neighboring States, and thereafter 
gradually spread eastward until it finally reached the 
Atlantic coast, and was carried across to Europe, becom- 
ing extremely destructive wherever it appeared. 

The adult Colorado potato beetle (Fig. 120, d) is 
too familiar to American gardeners to need description 
here. Its orange-colored eggs {a) are deposited in 
masses, varying in number from a dozen to fifty or more, 
on the under surface of the potato leaf, and occasionally 
also upon the leaves of grass, smartweed, or other plants 
in the potato field. They hatch about a week later into 
peculiar little grubs {h) that feed upon the foliage a few 
weeks. They then descend to the ground, where just 
beneath the soil surface, or under rubbish above it, they 



;^30 INSECTS AKD INSECTICIDES 

change to pupae (c). About ten days later they emerge 
as perfect beetles. There are from two to four annual 
broods, the number varying with the latitude, and the 
insect hibernates in the beetle state. 

Like most other insects, the Colorado potato beetle 
fluctuates greatly in numbers and destructiveness. In 
any given locality it will be very destructive for a period 




Fig. 120. COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, a, a, eggs ; b, b, larvse ; c, pupa; 
cl, d, beetles; e, wing of beetle, magnified. 

of years, and then there may be several seasons when its 
injuries will hardly be noticed. This oscillation is prob- 
ably due to the various natural enemies of the insect. 

Remedies. — The standard remedy for this pest is 
that of spraying or dusting with some form of arsenic, 
such as London purple, Paris green, slug shot, etc. 
All of these take effect both upon the larvae and beetles. 
London purple or Paris green may be dusted or sprayed 
on with a perforated can or a powder gun, or spraying 
machine. If used as a powder, the poison may well l^e 
diluted with several times its bulk of plaster, finely 



THE STEIPED BLISTER BEETLE 231 

sifted ashes, or flour. In spraying use six or seven 
ounces of London purple or Paris green to fifty gallons 
of water. For this purpose London purple seems pre- 
ferable on account of its cheapness and finely powdered 
condition. The application should be made as soon as 
the beetles appear, in order to kill off the first brood, 
and it must be repeated as often during the season as is 
necessary to keep the pests in check. It is better to use 
the arsenite and Bordeaux mixture combination, thus 
preventing both beetles and blight. By many growers 
hand picking of the beetles and eggs, especially early in 
the season, is resorted to instead of the use of poisons. 
This method is effective if thoroughly carried out. 

The Striped Blister Beetle 

Epicauta vittata 

This insect is sometimes called the old-fashioned 
potato beetle, because it was known as the "potato 
beetle" before the introduction of the more modern, as 
well as more destructive, Colorado spe- 
cies. It is a foe to the farmer only in its 
adult condition, for as a larva it feeds 
upon the eggs of various grasshoppers, 
forming one of the most efficient nat- 
ural checks upon the increavse of these 
pests. The adult blister beetle (Fig. 121) 
is a slender-bodied, rather long-legged g^ifip^D blis- 
insect, measuring from one-half to three- ter beetle. 
fourths of an inch in length, with alternate stripes of 
black and yellowish-brown upon the back. It feeds vo- 
raciously on the leaves of potatoes and various other veg- 
etables. These beetles are generally gregarious, feeding 
in good-sized flocks, and when disturbed take to flight 
readily. The females deposit their small eggs in masses 
of a hundred or more, in the soil just below the surface. 




232 INSECTS AND II^SECTICIDES 

In about ten days the eggs hatch into curious little larvae 
that burrow through the eartli in search of the eggs of 
grasshoppers. A large proportion of them probably per- 
ish because they can find none, but those that are suc- 
cessful feed upon the eggs and go through a curious 
series of ch^mges, which have been admirably described 
by Dr. Riley, finally going into the pupal state and 
emerging later on as beetles. In the South there are 
apparently two broods each season. On account of the 
dependence of the larvae upon grasshopper eggs, the 
beetles are much more likely to be destructively numer- 
ous during seasons following those in which grasshoppers 
have been abundant. 

There are several other species of blister beetles 
with habits similar to this one, that are frequently found 
upon potatoes. The commonest is probably the black 
blister beetle {Epicauia pemisylvanica). 

Remedies. — It is sometimes stated that these in- 
sects are not destroyed by eating Paris green, but this is 
probably a mistake. The application of this substance, 
however, seems often to be of no avail, probably either 
because it does not act immediately upon the beetles, or 
else because they continue to invade the field from the 
outside. A few years ago a favorite method of destroy- 
ing them was to drive the flocks of beetles upon loose 
hay or straw spread upon the ground near where they 
are at work, and then burn the hay, lighting it at several 
different places, so that it will burn rapidly. Hand 
picking can often be resorted to advantageously. It is 
doubtful policy, however, to destroy these insects except 
when they threaten to do serious damage, because of the 
grasshopper-egg-feeding habits of the larvae. 



THE IMBRICATED SNOUT BEETLE 233 

The Imbricated Snout Beetle 

Epiccerus vmbricatus 

This is a small beetle about half an inch long, sil- 
very white in general color, with various darker mark- 
ings upon its back. It feeds upon a great variety of 
vegetation, from the twigs and fruit of apple, cherry 
and gooseberry to the leaves and stems of onion, radish, 
melon, beans, beets, corn and potato. It often does 
very serious injury in the vegetable garden, but not- 
withstanding its commonness and destructiveness, its 
life history as yet has not been traced. Professor Forbes 
has found the eggs deposited between pear leaves fas- 
tened together, and Dr. Riley has conjectured that the 
larvae will be found to feed externally on the roots of 
one or more of the food plants of the beetle. When 
alarmed the beetles feign death, resembling in this 
respect the plum curculio, and fall to the ground. 

Remedies. — When these insects infest plants to 
which Paris green or London purple can safely be ap- 
plied, the potato for example, they may easily be de- 
stroyed by such applications. 



INSECTS AFFECTING CELERY, PARSNIP 
AND CARROT 



INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Celery Caterpillar 

Pajnlio asterias 

The life history of this insect has been discussed at 
some length in the Introduction (pages 5-7) in connec- 
tion with Plate I, where its different stages are illus- 
trated. The larvae are handsome and quite conspicuous, 
and feed upon the foliage of the various members of the 
parsley family, including the carrot, celery, parsnip, 
etc., sometimes doing considerable injury when left un- 
molested. The caterpillars often become the victims of 
certain parasitic insects, but it is said that neither birds 
nor domestic fowls Avill eat them, probably because of 
the disagreeable odor emitted from the peculiar yellow 
horns situated on the body, just behind the head. The 
adult butterfly is one of the most beautiful as well as 
one of the commonest of its family. 

Remedies. — When young these caterpillars may 
be destroyed by dusting them with insect powder or 
buhach. Ordinarily, however, they are not so abundant 
but that a little hand picking will readily hold them in 
check. 



234 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE SQUASH, 
MELON AND CUCUMBER 



INJURING THE ROOTS 

The Squash=vine Borer 

Melittia ceto 
The roots and stems of cucurbitaceous plants are 
frequently infested with a whitish larva that feeds upon 
the inner substance, often doing so serious a damage as 
to cause the plant to wilt and die. The parent of this 
squash-vine borer is one of the Aegerian moths. It is a 
handsome insect (Fig. 122), about half an inch long, 
with an orange-colored body ornamented by several 
black spots upon the back, and having olive-brown front 
wings and transparent hind ones. Eggs are deposited 
by this moth from the Urst of June until the middle of 
July, upon the stems of the young plants, often near the 
roots, and the larv^ resulting burrow into the center 
and feed upon the succulent interior. They remain 
here several weeks, gradually increasing in size. Toward 
the end of summer they become full-grown (c), when 
they measure about an inch in length, and are whitish 
with brown heads. They now leave the stem or root, 
and going into the ground an inch or two form cocoons 
by fastening particles of soil together with gummy silk. 
They then change to pupae, and remain thus until the 
following season, when they emerge as moths. Occa- 
sionally in the North a moth emerges the same season, 
while in the South the insect appears to be normally 
two-brooded. 

235 



236 



IJs'SECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



Remedies. — Professor J. B. Smith, who has stud- 
ied this insect carefully, makes substantially the follow- 
ing recommendations, in growing squashes for market : 

(1) Fertilize heavily and evenly ; not iti the hills alone. 

(2) As early as may be plant summer squashes on the 
land to induce the moths to deposit eggs in them. A 




FIG. 122. SQUASH-VINE BORER, a, b, nioth, wlngs expanded and at 
rest; c, larva, from side and from above; f?, cocoon, from which 
pupa slcin is extended. Natural size. 

few rows in the field are sufficient, unless it is desired to 
produce a market crop. (3) Plant the Hubbards, mar- 
rowfats or other main crop as late as advisable without 
risking the crop, making the hills between those of the 
early varieties. (4) Keep a lookout for the moths, and 
when they are noticed, go over the field every evening 
during the tAvilight and kill all that are found sitting on 
the leaves. A little practice will enable one to cover 
three rows at one time without missing a specimen, and 
in less than an hour a large field can be cleared of moths. 
(5) When the late varieties need the ground, the crook- 
necks will have made at least a partial crop, even if 



THE CUCUMBER FLEA BEETLE 237 

badly infested by borers, and the nnes can be taken out 
and removed, leaving the ground to the later varieties. 
This should be done carefully, so that all the borers re- 
main in the vines, and the latter should be thoroughly 
destroyed in some way that will kill all the contained 
larvae. (6) As soon as the late vines begin to run well, 
they should be covered at the fourth joint, or even be- 
yond it, and the ground should be kept in such condi- 
tion that it can readily send down suckers from all the 
joints. This will enable it to resist injury and to ripen 
fruit even if it becomes infested by a few belated borers ; 
hut there must le plant food enough where these joint 
roots are sent doiun, for that in the hill may ie cut off. 
(7) When the crop is made, the vines should be at once 
removed and destroyed, as were those of the summer 
squashes, so as to prevent the maturing of any borers 
then in them. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Cucumber Flea=beetle 

Crepidodera cucumeris 

This is a small, blackish, punctate beetle about one- 
sixteenth of an inch long, with yellowish antennae and 
legs, that appears early in spring, and as soon as the 
squash or cucumber plants are up, attacks them, eating 
off small, round patches of parenchyma from the upper 
surface of the leaves. Like all flea-beetles, they are quite 
active, hopping readily when disturbed. The larvae are 
said to mine the leaves. The insect does not confine it- 
self to squashes and cucumbers, but feeds upon a great 
variety of other plants. 

Remedies. — Powdered tobacco has been found to 
be the best preventive of the injuries of flea-beetles. 
When used against the striped cucumber beetle, it will 
take effect upon the present pest as well. 



238 INSECTS AN^D INSECTICIDES 

The Squash Bug 

Anasa tristis 

The squash bug is too familiar to gardeners to need 
a detailed description here. It is a rusty-black, flattened 
bug, about half an inch long, with the underside ochre- 
yellow, and has a very repulsive ^^buggy " odor. This 
insect winters over as an adult, beneath boards, logs, 
leaves, or other protective covering, and appears in the 
squash patch late in spring or early in summer. The 
y^ y females then deposit their brownish-yellow, 
\\/y^ spherical eggs on the undersides of the 

jMH^ leaves in patches varying from three or four 

V JHl A^to a score or more. In a few days the 

^WK \ young bugs, or nymphs, hatch, and insert 

J ^B^ r their pointed beaks into the leaf and suck 

^ ^ ont the sap. At first they are more or less 

FIG. 123. gregarious, the bugs from a single lot of 

SQUASH BUG. ^^^^ fccdiug togctlicr, but as they grow 

older they gradually disperse over the plants, casting 

their skins occasionally during their development. 

Like all true bugs, the transformations of this species 

are incomplete. The young bear a general resemblance 

to the adults, and the insect remains active in the stage 

corresponding to that of the pupa. Leaves attacked by 

the bugs become sickly and yellow, and if the pests are 

numerous the whole plant may finally be killed. 

Remedies. — Hand picking appears to be the most 
practicable remedy that has yet been tried. This should 
be done during the cooler hours of the day, when the 
bugs are sluggish. The young may also be destroyed by 
spraying with kerosene emulsion. Professor Cook records 
good success in placing pieces of boards among the plants, 
under which the bugs collect at night, and where they 
may easily be found and destroyed. Mr. Benjamin Ware 



I HE STRIPSD CUCUMBER BEETLE 



239 




reports good results from setting shingles in the soil at 
an angle of 45°. The bugs collect under these and are 
easily destroyed. 

The Striped Cucumber Beetle 

Diabrotica vittata 

This is the small, yellow beetle (Fig. 124, b) with 
black stripes on its back, that so commonly attacks 
squashes, cucumbers, melons, and other cucurbitaceous 
plants, soon after they 
come up in the spring. 
It feeds upon the leaves 
and stems, and in 
many parts of the 
country is so destruc- 
tive that these plants 
cannot be grown un- 
less preventive meas- 
ures are taken to guard 
against its injuries. 
The female beetles de- 
posit eggs in the soil 
about the stems of the 
plants, and the larvae 
resulting feed upon a 

the roots. They reach fig. 124. cucumber beetle, a, larva; b, 
maturity in a couple ^^^^^^- Magnified, 

of months, having joupated within the soil. The larvae 
(Fig. 124, a) are whitish, cylindrical worms, not quite 
half an inch long, with three pairs of legs at the front 
of the body, and one pro-leg at the posterior extremity. 
The insect winters over in the beetle state, under leaves, 
logs, and rubbish of various kinds. 

The beetles usually appear suddenly, often coming 
to the squash or melon field in great numbers within a 



^mmsr' 





240 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

few hours. Consequently a watch must be kept to pre- 
vent tlieir doing damage before discovered. 

Remedies. — There are probably few injurious in- 
sects for which more remedies and preventives have 
been suggested than for this. But a large proportion of 
these methods are w^orthless. Good success has been 
obtained by applying liberal quantities of refuse tobacco 
powder to the hills. A shovelful thrown upon the 

hills has been found largely to 
prevent the damage. The ap- 
jDlication should be repeated 
occasionally, when wind and 
rain have removed the powder 
^ from the plants. The tobacco 
2^^. acts not only as a repellent 
FIG. 125. vi>E PROTECTOR, to thc bcctlcs, but also as a 
mulch and fertilizer to the plants. Similar, though less 
liberal, applications of phosphates; bone dust, and other 
commercial fertilizers, are also recommended by some 
authorities. 

For the kitchen garden the most satisfactory method 
is that of protecting the plants by some form of gauze 
netting. A simple method of doing this is illustrated at 
Fig. 125. The ends of half a barrel hoop are placed in 
the earth at the sides of the hill, and a square strip of 
thin plant cloth or cheese cloth is then laid over it, the 
cloth being drawn taut, and the edges covered with loose 
earth. This excludes the beetles, and at the same time 
permits access of air, moisture, and sunshine. Squash 
plants are able to grow until they get four or five leaves, 
and cucumbers and melons even more, before they are 
crippled by contact with the cloth. Wire may be substi- 
tuted for the half barrel hoop. A single piece may be 
used, or two may be crossed like the center arch of a 
croquet ground, as represented at Fig. 12G. Good results 
are also obtained by simply placing the cloth over the 




THE TWELVE SPOTTED CUCUMBER BEETLE 241 

plants without any support, and covering the edges as 
described. By loosening the cloth occasionally, the plan-t 
will lift it, and get several leaves before it need be 
removed. A modification of this method, which has 
been successfully used, consists of two end boards one- 
half inch thick, about fifteen inches long by six or eight 
inches wide. On the middle of each of the these is nailed 
a piece of pointed lath at right angles to the long way of 
the board. The lower end of each lath projects below 
the edge of the board, and is 
stuck in the ground a few 
inches. Before the lath are put ^^ 
on, the end pieces are connected ^ 
with each other by a piece of ^ 
plant cloth about 16x27 inches, fig. 126. vine pkotector. 
the ends being tacked to the top and sides of the boards. 
This protector has many advantages. It can be stored 
in very little space. When it is desired to cultivate the 
hills, it is only necessary to pull up one end, stir the 
earth, and put the end back in position. 

Gauze-covered wooden frames are sometimes recom- 
mended to prevent the injuries of this insect, but they 
are objectionable because they exclude a great deal of air 
and sunshine, causing the plants to grow tall and slen- 
der, rather than short and stocky. 

The Twelve=spotted Cucumber Beetle 

Diahrotica 1%-punctata 
This insect is similar in appearance and habits to 
the one treated of last, the adult having twelve black 
spots upon a yellow background, instead of being striped. 
The larva of this species bores the roots of corn and 
other plants. The remedial measures recommended 
above apply equally well to this insect. Its life history 
will be found more fully discussed on a later page, where 
it is treated of as the Southern corn-root worm. 
16 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE BEAN AND 

PEA 



INJURING THE SEED 

The Bean Weevil 

Bruclms oUectus 



One often finds beans with numbers of excavations 
in them, like those shown at Fig. 127, h. Such beans 
are affected by the bean weevil — an insect that is widely 
distributed over the United States, and often does very 
serious damage. 

The adult weevil is reiDresented natural size in the 
upper middle portion of Fig. 127, and enlarged at a of 
the same figure. It is a small, 
brownish insect that very much 
resembles the nearly related pea 
weevil. The eggs are deposited 
inside the pod, the mother] 
beetle gnawing a narrow slit 
through the suture on the lower 
side of the pod and pushing 

her long ovipositor through tie, magnified; 6, infested bean. 

this opening to lay a cluster of eggs inside. The beetle 
normally oviposits in green pods of good size. The eggs 
hatch in about a fortnight into larvae which feed uj^on 
the beans for three or four weeks, when they pupate, 
and about ten days later emerge as adult beetles. These 
insects are also able to develop in dried beans, tlie vari- 
ous periods lasting longer in winter than in summer. 

242 




FICx. 127. BEANWEEV 



a, bee- 



THE PEA WEEVIL 243 

The larvae gnaw out cells in the beans, several often oc- 
curring in a single bean, and are said at the time of pu- 
pation to leave the cells in which they have developed 
and to excavate another to pupate in. The adult beetles 
have been observed to feed upon the parenchyma of the 
growing plant. 

Remedies. — Beans infested by these pests should 
be inclosed in tight vessels, into which a little bisulphide 
of carbon, benzine, or gasoline has been placed. The 
fumes of these volatile substances will destroy the 
beetles. Of course care must be taken that no particle 
of fire comes in the vicinity of the treatment. Late 
planting of the crop has been found a good way to pre- 
vent injury, by an extensive Illinois farmer living in the 
latitude of St. Louis, Missouri, who for a number of 
years has planted his field beans from June 20th to 
July 10th, with good results. If the beans, as soon as 
ripe, are heated to 145° Fahrenheit, the partially grown 
larvae will be destroyed without injury to the germinat- 
ing qualities of the seed. This will prevent much of 
the damage that would be done were the larvae left to 
complete their growth. 



The Pea Weevil 

Bruchus pisi 

As already stated, this insect is very similar to the 
bean weevil in life history and habits. The adult beetle 
deposits its yellow eggs on the outside of the young pods 
early in summer. On hatching, a few days later, the 
larvae bore through the pods into the peas, which they 
enter and eat out the substance, leaving the radicle or 
germ untouched. On this account ^'^ buggy peas" will 
germinate, but as the young plants are deprived of the 
proper nourishment they make a less healthy growth 



244 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

than do those resulting from uninjured peas. When 
full-grown the larva eats a hole on one side of the pea, 
leaving only the thin, outer covering, before entering 
the pupal state. Some time afterwards the insect again 

changes to the perfect beetle, 
a portion of which emerge 
the same season, but most of 
them remain in the peas 
until the following spring. 

Remedies. — The meas- 
ures mentioned as remedies 
for the bean weevil are equally 
FIG. 128. PEA WEEVIL, a, beetle, applicable to this pest. That 

magiiified; 6, infested pea. of heating the peaS to 145° 

Fahrenheit as soon as gathered, seems especially advis- 
able in the case of the pea weevil, for at the time of 
ripening a large proportion of the weevil larvae are only 
partially grown. 




INSECTS AFFECTING THE CABBAGE 



INJURING THE ROOTS 

The Cabbage=root Maggot 

Pliorbia hrassicce 

The cabbage-root maggot is one of the most vexa- 
tious enemies of the gardener. The adult (Fig. 129, c) 
is a small, two- winged fly, somewhat like the common 




FIG. 129. CABBAGE MAGGOT, a, larva ; h, puparium ; c, fly. 

house fly in general appearance, which appears in the 
cabbage fleld soon after the plants are set out, and de- 
posits its eggs about the stems at the soil surface. The 
little, whitish maggots soon hatch, and work their way 
downward to the roots, which they attack, feeding upon 
the outer surface and thus making grooves, or boring 
into the interior and hollowing out cavities. They 
sometimes cause the roots to thicken up and become 
malformed, producing an effect similar to that of the 
fungus causing the disease known as *^club root." In 
two or three weeks the maggots become full-fed {a), and 

245 



246 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



they change to the pupal state within hard hrown pn- 
paria (b), to emerge fifteen or twenty days afterward as 
adult flies. There are probably two or three broods 
each season, and the insect apparently hibernates in 
each of its three later stages. These insects infest tur- 
nips, rutabagas and radishes, as well as the cabbage, and 
also breed in wild cruciferous i)lants. 

Remedies. — A large number of unsatisfactory rem- 
edies have been proposed for this insect. In some cases 




FIG. 130. CABBAGE ROOTS INJUKED BY MAGGOTS. 

immunity from attack may be had by planting the crop 
each year a considerable distance from where it was be- 
fore, although the fact that the insect breeds in wild 
cruciferous plants sometimes causes the insects to attack 
cabbages on land not previously planted to this crop. 
In special cases where only a few cabbages or radishes 
are to be raised, the flies can be kept out by growing in 
cold frames covered with cheese cloth or fine netting. 



THE CABBAGE ROOT MAGGOT 



247 



The most satisfactory preventive method that has 
been used on a large scale is that of protecting the 
plants by tarred paper (one-ply tarred felt) cards, in a 
way similar to that shown in a, Fig. 131. The method 
of making and applying these cards is described by Pro- 
fessor Goff as follows : ^^The cards are cut in a hexag- 
onal form, in order to better economize the material, 
and a thinner grade of tarred paper than the ordinary 




FIG. 131. TARRED PAPER CARDS ON BASE OF PLANTS. a, COrrectly 

put on ; 6, carelessly put on. 



roofing felt is used, as it is not only cheaper, but being 
more flexible, the cards made from it are more readily 
placed about the plant without being torn. 

"The blade of the tool, which should be made by 
an expert blacksmith, is formed from a band of steel, 
bent in the form of a half hexagon, and then taking an 
acute angle, reaches nearly to the center, as shown in 
Fig. 132. The part making the star-shaped cut is 
formed from a separate piece of steel, so attached to the 



248 li^SECTS AI^^D INSECTICIDES 

handle as to make a close joint with the blade. The 
latter is beveled from the outside all around, so that by 
removing the part making the star-shaped cut, the edge 
may be ground on a grindstone. It is important that 
the angles in the blade be made perfect and that its 
outline represents an exact half hexagon. 

'^To use the tool, ]Aiice the tarred paper on the end 
of a section of a log or piece of timber and first cut the 
lower edge into notches, as indicated in Fig. 132, using 
only one angle of the tool. Then commence at the left 
side, place the bhxde as indicated by the dotted lines, 
and strike at the end of the handle with a light mallet, 
and a complete card is made. Continue in this manner 
across the paper. The first cut of every alternate course 
will make an imperfect card, and the last cut in any 
course may be imperfect, but the other cuts will make 
perfect cards if the tool is correctly made and properly 
used.* 

''The cards should be placed about the plants at 
the time of transplanting. To place the card bend it 
slightly, to open the slit, then slip it on to the center, 
the stem entering the slit, after which spread the card 
out flat, and press the points formed by the star-shaped 
cut snugly around the stem." At a, in Fig. 131, is 
shown a card properly applied to the stem of a geranium ; 
d shows a card carelessly put on. 

Another way of preventing the injuries of the cab- 
bage-root maggot is by the use of a carbolic acid emulsion. 
Mr. Slingerland recommends that it be made by the 
following formula: ''One pound of hard soap or one 
quart of soft soap dissolved in one gallon of boiling water, 
into which one pint of C7ncde carbolic acid is then poured 
and the whole mass agitated into an emulsion, which 



*It is stated that these cuttinej tools can be bought of P. J. Diepold, 
Madison, Wis., for ?^2.50 each. 



THE CABBAGE ROOT MAGGOT 



249 



will remain in this condition for a long time. In treat- 
ing the plants, take one part of this standard emulsion 
and dilute it with thirty equal parts of water; it prob- 
ably can be used stronger without injury to the plants. 
If the emulsion is cold and semi -solid use several parts 




FIG. 132. a, outline of paper card, two-thirds natural size; 6, diagram 
showing how tool is used ; dotted line shows position of edge of 
tool ; c, tool for cutting cards (reduced). 

of warm water at first. Begin the treatment early, a day 
or two after the plants are up, or in the case of cabbages 
and cauliflowers, the next day after they are set in the 
field, and repeat it once each week or ten days until about 



250 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

May 20 in New York. Wliile Ave have little faith in the 
preventive effects of the early treatments, we do believe 
that the emulsion will then kill many of the eggs and 
recently hatched maggots. If it could be api)lied with 
some force through a syringe or force pump, it might 
not be necessary to go to this trouble of first removing 
some of the earth from about the plants. It must be 
remembered that its success will depend on the eggs or 
maggots being hit with it. None of the cabbages in our 
experiment were injured in the least by an application 
containing nearly twice as much of the acid, and there 
is but little danger of its injuring the tenderest foliage 
of radishes, turnips or onions; if any injury manifests 
itself OD these crops, dilute the emulsion with forty or 
fifty or more parts of water, instead of thirty. A knap- 
sack or a wheelbarrow sprayer would prove a very useful 
instrument in applying the emulsion on a large scale." 

The use of carbon bisulphide, applied with a spe- 
cially devised injector, has also given good results. For an 
account of this and other remedial methods the reader is 
referred to Bulletin 78 of the Cornell University Experi- 
ment Station. In some localities the growers search 
regularly about the bases of the stems for the bunches of 
whitish eggs, and claim it to be the best method of 
checking the injuries of the i^est. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Imported Cabbage Worm 

Pier is rcqjce 

This insect was imported into America from Europe 
about 1857, since when it has become exceedingly destruc- 
tive over a large portion of the United States and Canada. 
The adult is a common white butterfly, the female of 
which has two black spots upon each of the front wings 
(Fig. 133, c), while the male (Fig. 134) has but one. 



THE IMPORTED CABBAGE VVOllM 



251 



The former deposits, singly or in clusters of two or three 
each, small, fusiform, yellowish eggs upon the cabbage 
leaves, which soon hatch into little, green larvae that feed 
upon the substance of the foliage. In about two weeks 
they become full-grown (Fig. 133, a), when they gener- 
ally leave the cabbage plants, and, finding some suitable 
shelter — beneath a boai'd or under the coping of a fence 
— change to chrysalids (Fig. 133, b). They remain in 
this condition about ten days, when they emerge as but- 




FiG. 133. Imported CABBAGE Worm : a, larva; 6, chrysaHs ; c, female 
butterfly. 

terflies, to lay eggs for another brood of worms. The 
winter is passed in the chrysalis state. There are several 
generations of larvae each season, the number varying 
with the climate and latitude. 

This insect has numerous natural enemies with 
which to contend. The larvae and pupae are preyed upon 
by certain parasitic and predaceous insects, and the but- 
terflies are often captured by insectivorous birds, as well 
as by a predaceous bug known to entomologists as Phy- 
mata wolffii. The larvae are often destroyed by thou- 
sands by a bacterial disease — a sort of insect cholera — 
that has lately aided greatly in checking the injuries of 
this pest. 



252 IKSECTS AND IISSECTICIDES 

There are two or three species of native cabbage 
worms — notably the Southern cabbage butterfly (Pieris 
jrrotoclice) and the pot-herb butterfly (P. oleracea) closely 
related and similar to this imported worm, that were 
formerly quite injurious to cabbage, but since the intro- 
duction of the alien species they have been largely 
crowded to the wall, and are seldom destructive. 

Remedies. — Pyrethum (insect powder or buhach), 
hot water and kerosene emulsion are the substances that 
can most successfully be used in fighting the im23orted 

cabbage worm. The 
insect powder may be 
diluted with six or eight 
times its bulk of flour, 
and dusted on with a 
powder gun or bellows, 
or it may be mixed 
with water in the pro- 

FIG. 134, IMPORTED CABBAGE BUTTER- , . „ , 

FLY. Male. portion 01 one ounce to 

four or five gallons of water, and sprayed upon the 
plants. Dr. Riley gives preference to hot water as a 
remedy for this insect. He states that *^ every worm 
visible upon the cabbages may be killed by the use of 
hot water at the temperature of 130° Fahrenheit. The 
water may be boiling hot when j^ut in the watering can, 
but it will not be too hot when it reaches the cabbage 
leaves." Kerosene emulsion can advantageously be used 
when the plants are young, though there would appear 
to be danger of tainting the heads if applied to the fully 
developed plants. Whichever method of treatment is 
adopted, it should be carried into practice at frequent 
intervals, thus keeping the worms well in check. If the 
plants are dusted with insect powder once a week during 
the time that the worms are present, they will cause 
little or no trouble. 




THE CABBAGE PLUSlA 



253 



The Cabbage Plusia 

Plusia IrassiccB 

This insect, illustrated in its three later stages at 
Fig. 135, has been known for years to do serious injury 
to a number of garden crops. While it is especially 
injurious to cabbage, it also attacks celery, turnip, tomato, 
clover, cauliflower, lettuce, dandelion, dock, and several 
other plants. The adult (shown at upper part of Fig. 
135) is a handsome, dark-gray moth, with- a silvery spot 
near the middle of each front wing. The females deposit 
their pale, greenish-yellow eggs singly or in clusters, on 




FIG. 135. CABBAGE PLUSIA. «, larva; b, pupa in cocoon; c, moth. 

the cabbage leaves, usually on the upper surface. The 
larvae soon hatch and devour the leaves as they develop, 
boring small, irregular holes in the cabbage head. When 
full-grown (a) they are about an inch long, of a general 
pale-green color, with longitudinal lighter stripes; the 
head is small, and the body gradually enlarges from the 
front backward. In motion the body assumes a looping 
position, as shown in the figure. The full-grown larva 



254 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

spins ca slight, white, silken cocoon on the cabbage leaf, 
generally on the lower surface, and within this changes 
to a brownish pupa (b). In a short time it emerges as 
a moth. At the South, where this insect is ordinarily 
more destructive than at the North, there are several 
broods each season. The moths are nocturnal or crepus- 
cular, but in cloudy weather are sometimes seen flying 
during the day. 

The larvae of the cabbage plusia are subject to the 
attacks of many enemies; they are devoured by birds, 
destroyed by certain parasitic insects, and often become 
the victims of a fungous disease. 

Remedies. — This insect is more difficult to destroy 
than the imi)orted cabbage worm, but it will succumb to 
pyrethrum if not diluted with more than three times its 
bulk of flour, and may also be killed with the kerosene 
emulsion applied in a spray. 

The Zebra Caterpillar 

Ceramica picta 

This caterpillar is at once distinguished from other 
larvae feeding upon cabbage by the brilliant yellow and 
black markings upon its body. It originates from small, 
spherical eggs, laid in clusters upon the cabbage leaves 
by a handsome, i^urplish-brown moth (Fig. 136, h), that 
appears early in summer. At first the larvae are very 
dark, and feed together gregariously, but as they develop 
they become lighter colored, and disperse over the plant. 
When disturbed they roll up and drop to the ground. 
They become full-grown (ci) in three or four weeks, 
when they are about two inches long, with a wide, longi- 
tudinal, velvet-black stripe upon the middle of the back, 
and two bright yellow stripes upon each side, which are 
connected by fine, yellow, transverse lines. Tlie cater- 
pillars now construct, sliglitly beneath the soil surface. 



THE WAVY STRIPED FLEA BEETLE 



255 



loose cocoons composed of particles of earth fastened 
together by silken threads, within which they change to 
pup^e. About a fortnight later the moths emerge, and 
deposit eggs for a second brood of larvae, which develop 
early in autumn, pupating before winter, and hibernating 
within their cocoons. 




FIG. 136. ZEBRA CATERPILLAR, a, larva; h, moth. 

Remedies. — When young the laryae are congre- 
gated together upon one or a few leaves, and may then 
easily be checked by hand picking. Later they are open 
to destruction by the application of hot water, insect 
powder, or kerosene emulsion. 

The Wavy=striped Flea=beetle 

Pliyllotreta vittata 

This little pest does not by any means confine its 
depredations to the cabbage, but attacks turnip, mus- 
tard, radish, and various other plants as well. It is 
represented in Fig. 137, a, and is a small, shining black 
beetle, one-tenth of an inch long, with a broad, yellow. 



256 INSECTS Ai^D INSECTICIDES 

wavy, longitudinal strij^je on each wing cover. It feeds 
upon the surface of the leaf, gnawing out little pits. 
The females deposit their minute, oval, whitish eggs 
upon the roots of various cruciferous plants, such as 
radish, cabbage, turnip, etc., and the larvae which hatch 

Mfrom them feed upon these roots, 
-" >Hrw sometimes doing serious damage in 
\ * ^TO tliis way. The full-grown larva (J) 
^^ is about one-fourth of an inch long, 
» with a yellowish-white body, and 

°'^„ " brown head. There appear to be 

FIG. 137. WAVY-STRIPED ^^ 

FLEA-BEETLE, a, bee- two or more broods each season. 

tie; 6, larva; c, pupa. Remedies. — Tobacco powder 

is the best remedy for these little pests. If applied 
freely to the plants, it will drive them away. In seasons 
when the beetles are not too thick, dusting the plants 
with dry, unleached wood ashes, or lime or plaster, will 
also keep them off, and tobacco decoction is a good 
remedy. 

Cabbage Cutworms 

The cabbage is subject to attack by nearly a dozen 
species of cutworms, nearly all of which, however, are 
similar in habits and history, and may well be treated 
of collectively. They are all larvae of medium-sized, 
night-flying moths, and are rather thick, naked worms 
of the general form of Fig. 138, a. They curl up when 
disturbed. The eggs are deposited generally on the 
branches of trees and shrubs, the larvae descending to 
the ground in search of food as soon as hatched. Most 
of them feed upon grass or clover when young, becom- 
ing about half-grown by winter time, when they seek 
the shelter of some log or stone, or burrow into the soil. 
Here they hibernate, and in spring come forth in search 
of food. They now attack a variety of young plants, 



CABBAGE CUTWORMS 



257 




biting off the stems and feeding upon the leaves. Cab- 
bages, tomatoes, turnips, squashes, melons, and various 
other garden vegetables are all liable to their attacks. 
They become full-grown in spring or early summer, 
when they pupate beneath the soil surface, and three or 
four weeks later emerge as 
moths. The larva (a) and 
moth (b) of the variegated 
cutworm {Agrotis saucia) 
are represented, natural 
size, at Fig. 138. Some 
species have two or more 
broods each season, while 
others have but one. Cut- 
worms are especially likely 
to do damage in fields and 
gardens close to grass 
lands, and to crops imme- 
diately following grass. 

Remedies. — Of the 
dozens of methods of destroying cutworms, there are 
three which are of special merit. They are : 

(1). The poison metJiod. This consists in killing 
off the worms before the crops are planted, by strewing 
over the soil bunches of fresh clover or cabbage leaves, 
which have been treated with Paris green or London 
purple, either by dipping into a solution of the poison, 
or dusting it on dry. The half-grown worms prowling 
about in search of food eat of the baits thus set, and are 
destroyed before doing any harm. This method has 
proved a practical success with many gardeners, and is 
well worth trying where there is likely to be trouble 
from these pests. Of course care must be taken that 
chickens or stock do not get at the poisoned leaves. 

(2). Usmg hoards as traps. This method consists 
in placing boards on the ground in and about the gar- 
17 



^ -.: 



FIG. 138. VARIEGATED CUTWORM. 
a, larva ; b, moth. 



258 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



dew, and collecting in the morning the worms that will 
congregate beneath them (hiring the night. 

(3) Digging out the loor^ns where plants have been 
cut off. This is practicable in most gardens, and is 
well worth doing, thus preventing further damage. 

The Harlequin Cabbage Bug 

]\hirgantia hist r to nica 

The injuries of this insect were first noticed in 
Texas and other States at the far South, but it has grad- 
ually sj^read northward, especially along the Atlantic 
coast, until now it is seriously injurious as far north as 

Delaware. It feeds 
upon a variety of cru- 
ciferous plants, includ- 
ing cabbage, radish, 
mustard, turnip, etc. 
^ The insect *' derives 
its name from the gay, 
theatrical, harlequin- 
like manner in which 
the black and orange- 

FIG. 139. HARLEQUIN CABBAGE BUG. a./>, J^H^^ COlOrS ai'C ar- 
nymphs; c, eggs; /, adult ; g, adult, with ranged UpOU its body " 
wings extended — all natural size; '^ /rp- ion 7i /" \ 

eggs, side view; e, eggs, view from V^ ^S* ^"^'h ^h ^7 .1^9)' 

above,— fZ, e; enlarged. According to Dr. G. 

Lincecum, in Texas, ^^the perfect insect lives through 
the winter, and is ready to deposit its eggs as early as 
the 15th of March, or sooner if it finds any cruciform 
plant large enough. They set their eggs [c, d, c) on 
end in two rows, cemented together, mostly on the under- 
side of the leaf, and generally from eleven to twelve in 
number. In about six days in April (fonr days in July) 
there hatches out from these eggs a brood of larvae, re- 
sembling the perfect insect, except in having no wings. 




THE CABBAGE APHIS 259 

This brood immediately begins the work of destruction 
by piercing and sucking the life sap from the leaves, 
and in twelve days they have matured. They are timid, 
and run off and hide behind the first leaf stem, or any 
part of the plant that will answer the purpose. The 
leaf that they puncture soon wilts, like the effects of 
poison, and soon withers. Half a dozen grown insects 
will kill a cabbage in a day." At the South there are 
several broods each season. 

Remedies. — According to Mr. Howard Evarts 
Weed of the Mississippi Experiment Station, '^ there is 
but one efficient remedy for this insect, which is, to 
destroy the brood which lives over winter, when they 
congregate upon the mustard or radish plants. Here 
they can be destroyed very easily by the application of 
kerosene (not emulsified) by means of a hand force 
pump or common watering bucket. If the insects are 
thus destroyed early in the season, it will almost wholly 
prevent injury later. The insects fly but little, and are 
thus not apt to come from a neighboring field." Those 
bugs or eggs which may be seen on cabbage, should be 
picked off and destroyed. Clean cultivation and the 
burning of all rubbish are important preventive meas- 
ures. In spring and autumn many of the bugs may be 
trapped by laying cabbage or turnip leaves between the 
rows: the insects will harbor under these, and maybe 
collected each morning. It is especially important to 
destroy the earlier broods of this pest, because otherwise 
it increases so rapidly as to be almost unconquerable. 

, The Cabbage Aphis. 

A2)liis brass iccB 
Next to the imported cabbage worm this species is, 
perhaps, the most injurious insect enemy of the cabbage ; 
and it also infests various other cruciferous plants, in- 
cluding turnip, radish, field cress, and shepherd's purse. 
It appears to have been originally a European species. 



200 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



and was probably introduced into America at an early 
date. It is probable that it is now found in this country 
wherever the cabbage is extensively grown. 

The cabbage aphis is a small, greenish insect, gen- 
erally covered with a whitish, mealy coating, that occurs 




F. Detmers, del. 



yiG. 140. CABBAGE APHIS, a, male; b, head and antenna ot same; 
c, female; r/, head and antenna. Magnified. 

in great numbers on the leaves and in the heads. Dur- 
ing the summer months it reproduces viviparously, but 
in autumn true males and females (Fig. 140) are devel-. 
oped, eggs being deposited by the latter upon the cab- 
bage leaves. Except in the North the insect winters 
over in the adult condition. 

Remedies. — Kerosene emulsion is the most effec- 
tive insecticide that can be used against this insect. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE ONION 



INJURING THE BULBS 

The Onion Maggot 

Phorhia ceparum 

The onion maggot is closely related to the cabbage 
maggot, to which it is similar in life history and habits. 
The adult is a two-winged fly, which dei^osits its small 
white eggs on the bulbs or lower leaves of the young 
plants. About a week later the eggs hatch into young 
larvae that bore into the bulbs, absorbing the succulent 
substance. When one bulb is consumed they pass on to 
another. The full-grown larvae are nearly half an inch 
long, of a dull white color, and pointed at the mouth or 
front end. They complete their larval growth in about 
two weeks, and then leave the onions and enter the sur- 
rounding earth, where they change to the pupal state 
within brown puparia. A fortnight later the flies 
emerge to lay eggs for another bro'od. 

Remedies. — Professor Cook states that the most 
practical method of preventing the injuries of this in- 
sect is to change the position of the onion bed every 
year, putting it each time some distance from where it 
was the preceding season. Wherever the conditions are 
such that this can be done, this is probably the best 
preventive measure. Miss Ormerod reports that in 
England, if the bulbs are kept covered with earth, they 
are not attacked by the maggots. Mr. J. J. H. Greg- 
ory says that the best remedy is '^a hen and chickens. 
- 261 



262 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Allowing a couple of broods to an acre, confine tlie lien 
in a small coop near the middle of the piece, and give 
the chickens free exit. They will soon learn to catch 
the fly while in the act of laying the egg which produces 
the maggot." The insecticides recommended for the 
cabbage maggot may also be used for this pest. 



INSECTS AFFECTING ASPARAGUS 



The Asparagus Beetle 

Crioceris asimragi 

This insect was introduced into America from 
Europe about thirty years ago, and at once became very 
destructive to asparagus in the region of New York city. 
It has since spread over a large area, 
being reported in 1890 as far west 
as Ohio. According to Professor 
Oomstock its life history may be 
briefly summarized as follows: 
^'Upon the appearance of the plants 
in early spring, and just before the 
cultivators are ready to begin bunch- 
ing for the early market, the beetles 
come forth in great numbers from 
their hibernating quarters — under 
sticks, stones, rubbish, and especial-^ 
ly under the splinters of wood on 
fences and under the scaly bark of 
trees — and commence gnawing the 
tops of the young j^lants. They 
pair and lay their esffs very soon. ^^^- ^*^- aspabagus 

^ "^ ^® -^ BEETLE. «, eiigs on stalk ; 

The eggs (Fig. 141, a) are oval and?>, laiva; c, beetle; 6 and 

are placed endwise on the plant, ^ "^''^^'"^^'^^• 
usually in rows of two to seven. In from seven to ten 
days the young larvae begin to make their appearance. 
In form they bear a close resemblance to the Colorado 
potato- bee tie larvae. The general color is grayish olive 

263 ' ' ' 




204 INSECTS AKD li^SECTICIDES 

with shining black head and brown legs. When full- 
grown (d) they measure a little over three-tenths of an 
inch." The larvae feed upon the outer bark of the aspar- 
agus, and develop in [ibout two weeks from the time of 
hatching. They then descend to the earth where, 
slightly beneath the surface, or under rubbish above the 
surface, they change to pupae. About ten days later 
they emerge as beetles to feed upon the plants and de- 
j^osit eggs for another brood. The beetles {c) are very 
pretty little creatures, with head, legs and antennae of a 
shining metallic greenish-black hue, a reddish-brown 
thorax ornamented with two conspicuous black spots, 
and lemon-yellow wing covers, marked with a longitu- 
dinal black stripe and a transverse black band. There 
are two or more broods each season. 

Remedies. — The plan most successfully adopted 
by Long Island gardeners to prevent the injuries of this 
insect is that of destroying, by hoeing or other cultiva- 
tion, all volunteer growth of asparagus, leaving only the 
shoots designed for market for the beetles to lay their 
eggs upon. These shoots are cut and removed so often 
that there is no opportunity for the eggs to hatch in the 
field, and thus the increase of the pest is effectually pre- 
vented. The beetles are greedily devoured by domestic 
fowls, and in kitchen gardens these can sometimes be 
advantageously used against them. Of the artificial 
insecticides, j^yrethrum will probably give the best re- 
sults. In small patches it has been found practicable to 
rub off the eggs from the growing shoots. 



Insects affecting Cereal and 
Forage Crops 




PLATE XrV. THE STRIPED HARVEST SPIDER. 



INSECTS AFFECTING INDIAN CORN 



INJURING THE ROOT 

The Corn = root Aphis 

Aphis maidi-7'adicis 

This is a small, bluish-green aphis, or louse, which 
occurs on the roots of corn, from the time it comes up 
in spring until it is cut in autumn. Its general form, 
when magnified, is well 
shown at Fig. 142, which 
represents a closely related 
species, the apple aphis. 
There are two forms found 
upon the roots, one having 
wings and the other not, the 
latter being much the com- 
monest. Both forms are 
always attended by the com- 
mon, small brown ant (Lasius 
aliemcs), which cares for fig. 142. ai^ple aphis. Magnified, 
them as tenderly as it does for the eggs and young of 
its own species. Eggs are laid by the aphides during 
September and October, in the subterranean galleries of 
the ants, and. are collected by the latter and cared for 
all winter. In spring, when the lice are beginning to 
hatch, the ants tunnel about the roots of corn, or various 
weedy plants, and transport the little aphides to them. 
The lice feed upon the sap of the plant, sucking it 
through their tiny beaks, and multiply viviparously, or 
by giving birth to living young. They continue devel- 

267 




268 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

oping in this way until fall, when the egg-laying brood 
is produced. 

The presence of these lice upon the roots can easily 
be determined by carefully pulling or digging up plants 
supposed to be injured. The aphides, if present, will be 
seen crowding the roots as small, bluish-green particles. 
The affected plants generally appear yellow and sickly, 
growing slowly or not at all. 

Remedies. — Professor Forbes summarizes the 
economic results of years of study of this pest by recom- 
mending :'^ (1) That the fertility of the ground should 
be maintained as a general safeguard, and that cultiva- 
tion should be so managed — especially that of the lower 
parts of the field — so as to prevent so far as practicable 
the seeding of pigeon grass and smartweed among corn ; 
(2) that infested fields should be plowed deeply and 
thoroughly, harrowed late in fall or during some suitable 
early winter interval ; and (3) that a somewhat rapid 
rotation of crops should be systematically followed, corn 
usually being allowed to grow on the same ground but 
two years in succession." 

The Northern Corn = root Worm 

Diabrotica longicornis 

In Illinois, Kansas and other Western States, the 
roots of corn are frequently eaten off, during June and 
July, by a slender white worm, a little less than half an 
inch long, and about as thick as a common pin. It has 
a small, brown head, and three pairs of short legs near 
the front end, as shown at Fig. 143, c. It attacks 
the roots from the outer ends, burrowing beneath the 
surface, and eating its way toward the stalk. Shortly 
after midsummer it becomes full-fed, and deserting the 
root, pupates in the surrounding soil. The pupa {d) is 
about one-fifth of an inch long, and white in color. A 



THE NORTHERN CORN ROOT WORM 



269 



few days later it again transforms, and emerges as a 
grass-green beetle of the form represented at Fig. 143, 
e. ''The beetle climbs uj) tlie stalk," according to 
Professor Forbes's account, " living upon fallen pollen, 
and upon 'the silk at the top of the ear, until the latter 
dries, when a few of the beetles creep down between the 
husks and feed upon the corn itself, while the others 
resort for food to the pollen of such weeds in the field as 
are at that time in blossom. In September and October 
the eggs (a) are laid in the ground, upon or about the 
roots of the corn, and most of the beetles soon after dis- 




FIG. 143. CORN-ROOT "WORM, a, egg; b, smaU section of egg, greatly 
magnified; c, larva; d, pupa; e, beetle. Magnified. 

appear from the field." They feed for awhile upon vari- 
ous fall flowers and gradually die off, the winter being 
passed by means of the eggs deposited in the corn ground. 



The eofSfs hatch the follow 



spring. 



Remedies. — As the eggs of this insect are depos- 
ited in autumn in corn ground, rotation of crops furnishes 
a simple method of preventing its injuries. If the land 
is planted to some other crop the year following, the 
larvae, on hatching, will be deprived of suitable food, 
and consequently will perish. 



270 



Iiq-SECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Southern Corn=root Worm 

Diahroiica 12-ptcncfata 

The four later stages of this insect are represented 
at Fig. 144. The larva (b) is a slender, whitish worm, 
about half an inch long, resembling the Northern corn- 
root worm, to which in fact it is closely related. It 
feeds promiscuously upon the roots and base of the stalk 




FTG. 144. souTHKRisr CORN-KOOT WORM, a, egg; fc, larva; c, corn stalk 
showing puiictiiros; rf, p\ipa; e, beetle. AU but c magnified. 

of corn, pupating in the soil about the roots, and emerg- 
ing shortly afterwards as a yellow beetle with twelve 
black spots upon the back {e). There are two broods 
each season, eggs for the first brood being deposited by 
the female beetles in spring about the roots of young 
corn, and the second brood of larvne generally develop- 
ing upon the roots of certain wild plants, especially those 
of the Composite family. The insect hibernates as an 



WIREWORMS 



271 



adult, and the beetles feed upon a great variety of yegeta- 
tion, often doing serious damage to cucumbers, squashes, 
melons, and other garden vegetables. 

Remedies.— No practicable remedy has yet been 
found for this insect in its corn-infesting stage. 



Wireworms 

Elateridm 

Sprouting kernels of corn are often attacked by a 
hard, slender, yellowish worm, commonly called the 
wireworm, which eats out the substance of the seed or 
attacks the young roots. These are the young or larvae 
of various species of brown, flat- 
tened, elongate beetles, called 
click beetles, snapping bugs, or 
'^ skipjacks," on account of their 
habit of snapping upward in the 
air when placed on their backs. 
Eggs are laid by these beetles in 
grass lands especially, and the 
larvse that hatch feed, presumably 
for two years, upon the roots of 
various plants. They finally 
transform during autumn in hol- 
low cells in the earth into pupae, 
and shortly afterwards again change to beetles. They 
do not all however, leave their pupa cells at once, but 
many remain in them until the following spring. Pro- 
fessor J. H. Comstock has found that in breeding cages, 
if these cells be broken open in the fall, the beetles die. 
Remedies.— On account of the fact just mentioned, 
fall plowing has been recommended as a preventive of 
wireworm injury, the supposition being that the cells m 
which the beetles are resting will thus be broken open 
and the insects perish. A rotation by which clover will 




FIG. 



145. WIRE WORM AND 
CLICK BEETLE. 



372 INSECTS AJTD INSECTICIDES 

come in between grass and corn is suggested as the best 
way of preventing injury in cornfields. 

INJURING THE STALK AND LEAVES 

The Stalk Borer 

Gortyna nitela 

The terminal leaves of growing corn plants are some- 
times observed suddenly to wilt and wither. If pulled 
upward it will be seen that they have been cut oif inside 
the stalk, where there will generally be found a striped, 




± 2 

FIG. 146. STALK BORER. 1, motli ; 2, larva. 

brown worm, of the form represented at Fig. 146, 2. 
This is the stalk borer, so called because of its habit of 
burrowing the stalks of various plants, such as the potato, 
tomato, cocklebur, etc. It hatches from an Qgg laid by 
a brown moth (1), and pupates beneath the soil surface. 
The moths appear late in summer or early in autumn, 
and the insect apparently hibernates in its adult condition. 
Remedies. — Tlie only general measure that can be 
recommended against this insect is that of clean farming. 
The species largely develops in wayside weeds, and con- 
sequently these should be destroyed. Wherever the larvse 
are found at work they should, of course, be killed. 



THE GARDEIT WEBWORM 



273 



Cutworms 

NoctuidcB 

The general life history of the various species of cut- 
worms has already been described on Page 256. These 
pests are especially liable to injure corn planted on sod 
land, but such damage may easily be prevented by using 
the poison traps described in connection with remedies 
for cabbage cutworms (p. 257). The field to be planted 
should be strewn with poisoned clover or grass, or cab- 
bage leaves, before the crop is put in, although if not 
done then the baits may be placed between the rows 
afterwards. 



The Garden Webworm 

Eurycreon rantalis 

This insect occasionally becomes destructive over a 
wide area, and damages a great variety of crops, although 
corn usually suffers most. 
The adult is a small grayish 
moth (Fig. 147, /), expand- 
ing about three-quarters of 
an inch, the females of 
which deposit their eggs 
upon the leaves or stems of 
various plants. Soon after 
hatching the young larvae 
begin to spin a protective ^f,Vva!V/,puiTbotiu^^^^ 

web, which is enlarged as size; /. moth, sUgntly enlarged. 

the insects develop. Beneath this they feed upon the 
foliage, eating at first only the surface substance, but as 
they grow older they devour the whole leaf. The larvse 
become fall-grown in about a fortnight, when they spin 
thin, brownish cocoons on the ground, and change to 
18 




274 INSECTS a:n^d insecticides 

pupae, to emerge ten days or two weeks later as moths. 
There are two or tliree broods each season. 

Remedies. — Spraying or dusting infested plants 
with London purple or Paris green is the most practical 
remedy for this insect that has yet been suggested. 

The Corn=leaf Aphis 

Aphis maidis 

The leaves and stalks of corn are often infested by 
colonies of a small bluish aphis or plant louse, the ma- 
jority of which are wingless and the rest winged. This 
is the corn aphis. It has been for a long while consid- 
ered the aerial form of the corn-root louse, but the latest 
investigations indicate that the two are distinct species. 

The full life history of this insect is not known. It 
is probably the summer form of some species that passes 
the fall, winter and spring upon a tree or shrub. The 
winged viviparous females appear upon the corn early in 
summer and start colonies of young lice which develop 
rapidly and continue to multiply viviparously until the 
approach of cold weather in autumn. Then a winged 
brood appears and leaves the corn, migrating, doubtless, 
to some other plant. But where it goes, and where the 
winged females that start the colonies in early summer 
come from, is not known. 

These plant lice have many natural enemies with 
which to contend. Chief among these are certain mi- 
nute four- winged parasitic flies, the lady beetles and the 
harvest spiders or daddy longlegs. The first-named of 
these enemies are true parasites, developing within the 
bodies of the aphides, but tlie rest are predaceous insects. 
There are several species of lady beetles that, both in 
their larval and adult states, prey upon the corn aphis. 
It is probable, also, that great numbers of the aphides 
are destroyed by tlie harvest spiders which abound upon 



THE CORN WORM OR BOLLWORM 



275 



corn plants during summer. One of the commonest of 
these — the striped harvest spider — is shown, natural 
size, at Plate XIV. 

Remedies. — It seldom becomes necessary to resort 
to artificial remedies for this insect. While it could 
readily be destroyed with kerosene emulsion, the appli- 
cation generally would not pay in field culture. 

INJURING THE EARS 

The Corn Worm or Bollworm 

Heliothis armigera 

In the Southern States this insect is called the boll- 
worm because it feeds upon cotton bolls ; but at the 




FIG. 148. CORN WORM, a, 6, eggs, Side view and top view, magnified; 
c, larva; d, pupa, in cocoon ; e, motli witli wings expanded ; f, moth 
with wings closed. 

North it is known as the corn worm from its habit of 
eating the kernels of ripening corn. On this account it 
has come to be recognized as one of the most vexatious 




PLATE XV. CORN INJURED BY CORN WORM. 



THE CORN WORM OR BOLLWORM 277 

insect enemies of this croi^, and no thoroughgoing rem- 
edy that is practicable on a large scale has as yet been 
devised for it. The parent is a good-sized, greenish- 
yellow moth (Fig. 148 e, f) with a conspicuous black 
spot near the middle of the front wings, and various 
olive or rufous markings. These insects deposit their 
eggs among the silks of the young ears. The larvae 
soon hatch and eat through the husk to the succulent 
kernels beneath, which they devour greedily for several 
weeks, gnawing irregular channels along the cob (Plate 
XV). When full-grown (148, c) they are an inch and a 
half long, of a pale green or dark brown color, ornamented 
with longitudinal darker stripes. They now leave the 
ear, and, entering the soil a few inches, form loose 
cocoons of silk with particles of soil intermixed, within 
which they change to chestnut-brown pupa3 (148, d), 
emerging about a fortnight later as moths. At the North 
there are two broods, a third one occasionally developing 
in exceptionally long seasons, while at the South there 
are four or five. The first brood is especially likely to 
infest early sweet corn in gardens. 

Remedies. — Hand picking is the only remedy that 
has been suggested, except that of catching the moths 
by light ti'aps. The silk of infested ears shows the pres- 
ence of the larvae by being prematurely dry or partially 
eaten, and the larvae may be readily found and crushed. 
In garden patches of sweet corn, at least, this method is 
worth using. In fields, fall plowing will help to reduce 
the amount of damage by destroying the pupae, either 
directly or indirectly, by exposing them to the weather 
and birds. 



INSECTS AFFECTING WHEAT 



INJURING THE STALK AND LEAF 

The Hessian Fly 

Cecidomyia destructor 

This is one of the oldest and best-known insect pests 
of American agriculture. It has ranked as a destructive 
species for more than a century, and has probably been 

introduced nearly every- 
where that wheat is 
grown. The adult is a 
small, two-winged, mos- 
quito-like fly (Fig. 149, 
d), the females of which 
deposit their eggs on the 
upper surfaces of the 
wheat blades early in 
autumn. In a few days 
the larvae hatch, and 
each descends the leaf 
to the base of the sheath, 
where it attaches itself, head downwards, to the stalk, 
and proceeds to absorb the life sap of the plant. As the 
latter grows the young larva becomes imbedded in the 
stalk, where it remains stationary. When full-grown 
(which occurs in three or four weeks from the time of 
hatching) the larva is a soft, white, footless maggot of 
the form represented at a. Its outer skin now becomes 
hard and brown, and separates from the rest of the body, 

278 




149. HESSIAN FLY. 

pupa; c, injured stenx: 



THE HESSIAN FLY 279 

although it still surrounds the latter, forming a sort of 
cocoon, or, as it is more correctly called, puparium 
within which the insect changes to a pupa (b). This is 
the '* flaxseed" state, so called because of the resemblance 
of these brown puparia to flaxseeds. The winter is usu- 
ally passed in this condition, and in spring the flies 
emerge from the flaxseeds to lay eggs for another brood. 
The larvae of the fall brood affect the young wheat 
plants just above the roots, between the stalk xind sheath- 
ing base of the leaf, but the spring generation are 
formed a little higher up, at the joints an inch or more 
above the soil surface. This second generation completes 
its transformations before harvest, and there is often, if 
not always, at least as far north as the latitude of 40°, a 
third brood, which develops during summer in volunteer 
wheat; and Professor Forbes has shown that there may 
occasionally be even a fourth brood during the year. But 
the chief damage is done by the fall and spring broods. 

There are several species of insect parasites which 
attack the Hessian fly, so checking it that in most localities 
it only occasionally becomes injurious. 

Remedies. — The most promising method of pre- 
venting the injurie's of this insect appears to be that of 
inducing the flies to deposit their eggs in young wheat, 
and then destroying it. Where a third brood develops 
in volunteer wheat this end may be accomplished by 
turning under this volunteer growth when the Hessian- 
fly larvae are about half -grown ; or in case no such brood 
develops in the volunteer wheat, a few strips in the field 
may be seeded to wheat a few weeks before the regular 
planting time, and the flies will lay their eggs in these, 
which are afterwards to be plowed under. Th^'S the 
main crop of wheat will escape infestation. 



280 



INSECTb AND INSECTICIDES 



The Chinch Bug 

Blissus leucopteriis 

The chinch bug and the Eocky Mountain locust have 
long been known as the arch enemies of Western agricul- 
ture. They have each destroyed millions of dollars' worth 
of property, and have often caused great destitution over 
large areas. The chinch bug flourishes best at the South, 




FIG. 150. CHINCH BUG. a, h, cggs ; c, e,/,young; g, nymph or pupa; h, 
adult. Magnified. 

but occasionally occurs in destructive numbers as far 
north as New York and Minnesota. Like other injurious 
insects it is subject to periodical uprisings, which usually 
continue one, two, or three seasons before the various 
natural checks upon its increase reduce its numbers below 
the danger line. 

The adult chinch bug (Fig. 150, h) is a small black- 
ish insect, slightly less than one-fifth of an inch long, 
with the legs dark yellow, and their tips black. The 
young (c, e, f) do not differ in general form from the 
adults. When first hatched they are pale yellow, but 
they soon become red ; this continues to be the prevail- 
ing color until the pupal or last nymph stage {g) is 



THE CHIN^CH BUG 281 

reached. The insect is then grayish or brownish-black. 
The eggs {a, h) are quite small, being about 0.03 inch in 
length, and amber colored. Short-winged varieties of 
the adult chinch bugs are sometimes found. 

Professor S. A. Forbes has summarized the life his- 
tory of this insect as follows : ^^The chinch bug passes 
the winter in the adult winged state (a few black wing- 
less individuals occasionally occurring) under rubbish in 
or around the fields, in corn shocks and straw piles, 
under boards and among dead leaves in the woods, most 
abundant, usually, around the edges of the fields and in 
thickets, and around the borders of woods. From these 
lurking places such as survive the winter emerge in 
April and May (possibly sooner, if the season opens 
early), and, after pairing, lay their eggs in May and 
June, in fields of spring and winter wheat, barley, 
rye, oats and corn — chiefly in wheat and barley^most 
of the eggs being deposited in or near the ground, on 
the lower parts of the plants. Many of those hibernat- 
ing around fields sown to wheat and barley make their 
way in on foot, thus attacking the outer edges first ; but 
others take wing and scatter freely wherever suitable 
food invites them. 

'^By July most of the old bugs will be dead, and 
the new brood will be nearly full-grown, — far enough 
advanced by harvest to abandon the wheat fields for the 
nearest available food — oats or corn, if these are adja- 
cent ; otherwise and more rarely, grass. Making their 
way in on foot, only the borders of these fields will be at 
first attacked ; but later, by the 1st of August at the 
farthest, the bugs not already located will begin to fly, 
and so will become generally disseminated through fields 
of corn. Here the eggs are laid behind sheaths of the 
lower leaves, and under the jDrotection of this retreat the 
young hatch and mature, only coming out upon the 
exposed surfaces of the leaves when they become super- 



382 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

abundant or when they get their growth. The full- 
grown bugs fly freely, singly but not in swarms, when- 
ever their food fails them where they are. Rarely we 
find in the southern part of Illinois some trace of a third 
brood in a season, the young of these appearing in Sep- 
tember in the corn — but these are in too small numbers 
to have any practical importance. The broods are 
mainly two, one breeding chiefly in wheat, and the other 

almost wholly in corn, the 
adults of the latter brood 
passing the winter as above 
described. Each female is 
believed to be capable of lay- 
ing about five hundred eggs. 
^^The chinch bug is 
practically confined for food 
to the great family of grasses 
{Graminem) Avhich contains 
all the cereals and grasses, 
tame and wild. Some of 
these, however, it feeds upon 
with reluctance, if at all ; 
and among the ordinary ob- 
jects of its food it has its very 
decided preferences. Among 
the crop plants, wheat, barley 
FIG. 151. CHINCH BUGS AFFECTED and ryc, sorghum, broom 

BY ENTOMOPHTHOKA. ^^^^ ^j^^ ludilViU COm, millct 

and Hungarian grass are its favorite foods, with oats 
clearly second to these ; while among the wild grasses 
its preference is for foxtail grass and ^ tickle grass ' 
(Setaria and JEJragrostis).'^ 

The chinch bug is subject to the attack of various 
predaceous insects and vertebrate enemies. Of the for- 
mer the ladybugs furnish a good example, and of the 
latter certain birds, especially the quail, may be men- 




THE CHINCH BUG 383 

tioned. But these enemies are insignificant so far as 
concerns their effects upon the numbers of the bugs, 
when compared with certain fungous or bacterial dis- 
eases to which these pests are liable. These diseases 
sweep them off by the million, and are usually the most 
potent factor in checking their outbreaks. One of these 
is a fungus that develops on the surface of the bug as a 
dense white covering. This disease is illustrated at Fig. 
151 : a number of the dead bugs are shown on a dead 
wheat stalk at the left, while a single bug, much magni- 
fied, covered with the fungus, is represented at the right. 
This fungus belongs to a genus of plants called by bot- 
anists Entomophthora. 

Remedies.— Professor S. A. Forbes has divided 
the remedial and preventive measures applicable to the 
chinch bug into three general classes, namely : (1) Ag- 
ricultural methods ; (2)- barriers against migration ; (3) 
direct destruction. Under the first of these heads are 
included (1) clean farming, especially the cleaning up of 
refuse that may serve as protection for the bugs during 
winter, and the destruction of the grass-like weeds upon 
which they feed ; (2) diversified farming and the culture 
of crops not affected by the chinch bug ; (3) the tem- 
porary abandonment, in corn districts, of small grains, 
especially wheat and barley ; and vice versa, the similar 
abandonment of corn in small grain districts ; (4) heavy 
fertilization to enable the crops better to withstand 
attack; (5) the use of surplus seed, or the mixing of 
clover or timothy seed with small grains when sowed, to 
produce a heavy growth in which chinch bugs do not 
like to work ; (6) plowing under the bugs and their eggs 
whenever this is practicable. 

Under the head of barriers against migration are 
included : (1) plowing and harrowing at harvest time 
around infested fields, or plowing one or two deep furrows 
around the field ; (2) pouring coal tar along the ground 



284 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

just outside the infested fields and digging holes occasion- 
ally on the inside of the tar line for the bugs to fall into ; 
(3) planting strips with crops not subject to injury by 
the chinch bug. 

But the most satisfactory class of remedies consists of 
those by which the insects are killed outright, and in 
future outbreaks these will probably play a much more 
important part than in the past. The bugs are easily 
destroyed by kerosene emulsion, and by means of the 
improved spraying machines now upon the market this 
substance can advantageously be used agaiust them. Dur- 
ing fall, winter and spring, all infested grasslands, and so 
far as possible, wood lands, should be burned over to 
destroy the hibernating bugs. Remarkable success has 
also lately been attained in s^Dreading, artificially, the 
funo-ous diseases of the chinch bug. 

The Grain Aphis 

Siphonophora avenm 

This insect occasionally becomes destructive to wheat 
and oats over large areas. It is a small greenish or 




FIG. 152. WHEAT INFESTED BY GRAIN APHIS. 

brownish aphis, with or without wings, which breeds 
upon wheat, oats, and various other plants of the grass 
family. It obtains its food by inserting a pointed beak 
into the leaf or stem and sucking out the sap. As the 
wheat gets ripe it migrates to the more succulent oats, 
and when these ripen goes to various grasses. It brings 
forth living young, and its rate of multiplication is very 
great, it being estimated that a single louse m spring 



THE WHEAT BULB WORM 



285 



may become the ancestor of millions before autumn. 
The true sexecl forms have not yet been found. The 
injury of these insects is chiefly 
manifested by the shriveling of 
the grain in infested fields. 

Fortunately this insect has 
many natural enemies with 
which to contend. Chief among 
these are little four-winged par- 
asitic flies, and various species 
of lady beetles. These natural 
enemies are undoubtedly the 
means of preventing this j^est 
from overrunning grain-fields 
every year. 

Remedies. — As yet no 
practical artificial remedy for 
the grain aphis is known. Ker- 
osene emulsion will destroy 
them, but the difficulty of reach- 
ing them with it when they 
occur on the under surface of 
the leaf, makes the remedy 

hardly practical. We must or-^,^^ ,^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ 
dinarily rely upon the weather wheat head. Mugumeci. 
and its various natural enemies to hold it in check. 




The Wheat=bulb Worm 

Meromyza americana 

This insect has attracted the attention of economic 
entomologists only during comparatively recent years. 
The adult is a handsome two-winged fly (Fig. 154, d), 
having two longitudinal yellowish stripes along its back. 
The females deposit eggs in the fall on the young wheat 
plants, and the larvas, on hatching, feed upon the central 



28G 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



portion of the stem, just above the bulb of tlie plant. 
They remain here through the winter, becoming full- 
grown in spring. They are then footless cylindrical larvae 
of the form shown at b. They pupate in the spring and 

a fortnight later 
emerge as flies. After 
mating, the female 
flies of this brood de- 
posit eggs for larvae 
which work into the 
straw, just above the 
last joint, thus cut- 
ting off the sap sup- 
ply from the head 
MagnifTed. and causing it to 
wither and dry up. These larvae complete their trans- 
formations during Jnly, when they are on the wing as 
flies. Early in July eggs are de|)osited by this brood of 
flies on volnnteer wheat, and the transformations of 
these are completed in time for the adults to lay their 
eggs in the fall wheat. Consequently there are three 
broods each season. Besides wheat this insect breeds 
in oats and various grasses. 

Remedies. — The destruction of volnnteer wheat 
after the worms have got started in it, and the early 
planting of strips to induce them to oviposit, are the 
best remedial measures for this insect. 




FIG. 154. WHEAT-BULB WORM 
larva; c, puparivim; d, fiy 



egg; 



Wheat Jointworms 

Isosoma liordei and /. tritici 

There are two nearly related species of minute four- 
winged flies (Fig. 155) which deposit eggs in wheat 
stems that hatch into the so-called jointworms. Ac- 
cording to Mr. F. M. Webster, ^'^the females push their 
ovipositoi-s into the stems of growing wheat and deposit 



WHEAT JOINTWORMS 



287 



their eggs singly, but often several in each straw. This 
is done during the early spring, and again during June, 
in the latitude of Central Indiana, the young larvae feed- 
ing upon the substance of the stem; but, being secure 
from ordinary observation, they are seldom noticed. 
We have found five of these larvaB at work on a single 
stem. These worms do not usually wither the straw, 



I 




FIG. 155. JOliVTWORM. ffl, galls at joints; h, female fly. Magnified. 

and the effect of their work is only to be observed in the 
shorter and more slender stem, shorter heads and smaller 
and less plump kernels. 

"The larvas are almost invariably found below the 
upper joint, and hence, by cutting the grain a little 
high, they can be left in the field, and as they pass the 
winter as pupae in the same situation, by burning the 
stubble any time between harvest and the following 
March they can be destroyed. As the adults emerging 
from the old straws in spring are almost invariably 
wingless, they cannot travel about very rapidly. And 
hence changing the grain from one field to another, or 
rotating the crop, is often quite effectual in keeping 
them in check. Those adults appearing in June from 
the growing plants are provided with well-developed 



288 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

wings, and can travel about from field to field with the 
utmost freedom." 

INJURING THE HEADS 

The Wheat Midge 

Gecidomyia tritici ■ 

This insect is closely related to the Hessian fly. The 
adult is a small, two-winged, yellow or orange colored 
fly that appears in the wheat fields a few weeks before 
harvest time, and deposits its minute eggs in the crev- 
ices between the chafl of the wheat heads. These eggs 
soon hatch into little footless maggots that attack the 
young germ or kernel, blasting it. About three weeks 
later they become full-grown ; they then leave the heads 
and enter the ground, where they pupate. There is but 
one brood each year. Besides wheat, the midge is said 
to breed in rye, barley, oats, and possibly grass. 

Remedies. — Early- maturing grains are less liable 
to be infested by this insect than those ripeuing later. 
Consequently farmers in regions where it is present plant 
such varieties early, with general liigh culture. Many 
of the insects will be destroyed by the deep plowing of 
the infested fields. 

INJURING STORED GRAIN 

The Grain Weevil 

Calandra granaria 

There are several species of beetles infesting gran- 
aries, the habits and life histories of which, however, 
are quite similar. As an example we may take the im- 
ported grain weevil, the larva of which is represented at 
Fig. 156, a. The parent insect being a small, dark-red- 
dish snout beetle (J), deposits its eggs upon the grain. 
The eggs soon hatch into legless little larvse that eat out 




THE GKAIK WEEYlL ^80- 

the substance of the kernels, and become full-grown (a) 
in a few weeks. They then change to pupa8 and soon 
afterwards again transform to adult beetles. There are 
several broods each season. All sorts of stored grain, 
such as corn, oats, wheat, barley, etc., are attacked by 
these insects. 

Remedies. — Bisulphide of carbon appears to be 
the best insecticide to use against grain weeyils. The 
vapor of this substance is poisonous to insect life, and 
as it is heavier than air it will 
descend between the kernels 
of grain, destrojang all the 
weevils which it reaches. Dr. 
C. V. Riley has lately called 
attention to the following 
method of using it, premis- 
ing with the statement that 
one and a half pounds of bi- j a 

sul23hide is sufficient for each fig. isg. grain wEE\ai.. «, lar- 

ton of grain : ^^A ball of tow ^a; b, beetle. Magnified. 

is tied to a stick of such a length that it can reach the 
middle of the vessel containing the grain. The tow 
receives the charge of bisulphide like a sponge, and is 
at once plunged into the vessel and left there, the mouth 
or opening of the vessel then being tightly closed. 
When necessary, the stick may be withdrawn and" the 
charge (of 1 ounce to 100 pounds of grain) may be 
renewed. The action of carbon bisulphide lasts in ordi- 
nary cases six weeks, after which period a fresh charge 
is required. The bisulphide does no liarm to the grain 
as regards its color, smell, or cooking properties, and 
the germinating power of most seeds is not appreciably 
affected, provided that not too much is used, nor its 
action continued for too long a period." 



19 



290 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 






9 •^ 



&] 



;X^' 



mA 



UKN IN.Trin D 



ii\ aKAl> _MU111. 



The Angoumis Grain 
Moth 

GelecMa cerealella 

This insect derives its com- 
mon name from the fact that it 
was first carefully studied in the 
province of Angoumois, France. 
It has long been known as a pest 
of- extraordinary destructive power, 
and both in Europe and America 
has caused enormous losses. It is 
more injurious in the warm climate 
of the South than in the North. 
Mr. F. M. AVebster has summa- 
rized its life history in these words : 
**The insect passes the winter in 
the larval state, pupates in the 
spring, and the moths appear in 
May or June. These pair imme- 
diately and deposit their eggs on 
the young grains of the new crop 
in the fiekl, if they are allowed to 
escape, or, if not, on the grain in 
the bins where they originated. 
These eggs hatch in from four to 
seven days, and the larvae burrow 
into the grain and themselves 
transform to moths, about August, 
or often during the latter part of 
July. These moths deposit their 
eggs after the manner of the previ- 
ous brood, and the larvae from 
these, nearly if not quite all, reach 
maturity during the fall and trans- 
form the following spring. The 



THE AKGOUMIS GRAIN" MOTH 291 

number of broods and the time of appearances vary- 
greatly with the climate and season ; in warm countries 
broods follow each other in rapid succession during tlie 
entire year." The easiest way of killing these pests is 
by means of the carbon bisulphide treatment described 
in connection with the grain weevil. 



INSECTS AFFECTING CLOVER 



INJURING THE ROOT 

The CIover=root Borer 

Hylastes trifohi 

This insect was originally a native of Europe, from 
whence it was introduced into America not very many 

1^^^ ^.^ years ago. The adult is a 

\/ Im/ /^« small, brownish-black, punc- 
^J^' raB ^^^® beetle (Fig. 158, d), not 
^ A"^il^^ ^1 quite one- tenth of an inch long. 
(Ii^HM ^gM It deposits eggs during spring- 
in the crown of the clover 
plant, four or five eggs being 
laid on each plant. Shortly 
afterwards the larvae hatch 
and burrow downward through 
the larger roots {a, a) feeding 
upon the inner substance, and 
filling tlie galleries behind 
them with their sawdust-like 
excrement. Late in summer 
the larvae become fully grown 
{h), when they are one-eighth 
of an inch long, with a whitish 
^ ^ ,,„ body and yellow head. They 

FIG. 158. CLOVER-KOOT BOKER. "J *' / \ • i • i 

a, infested plant; b, larva; c, chaUffC to DUpaS (c) WltlllU tllC 
pupa; d, beetle; b,cd, magni- ,_ ,/( ti ■ 

fied. tunneled roots («,«), and short- 

ly afterwards emerge as adnlt beetles. The species gen- 
erally passes the winter in the beetle state, but occasion- 

292 




THE CLOVER LEAF BEETLE 293 

ally hibernates as a larva or pupa. The injuries of this 
insect are frequently very serious, whole fields of clover 
often being destroyed. Fortunately its ravages are as 
yet confined to a comparatively few States, but it is 
likely to spread over a large portion of the country. 

Remedies. — In regions infested by this insect it 
has been found necessary to rotate the clover crop more 
frequently than before, mowing the seeded land but 
once, and pasturing or plowing under the abundant sec- 
ond growth. In this way the crop is turned under 
before the injuries of the borer become manifest. Ac- 
cording to many of the most successfu] farmers, this 
frequent rotation is deemed desirable anyhow, so that 
the insect, in their opinion, is a means of compelling 
the adoption of an improvement in farm management. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The CIover=leaf Beetle 

Phytonomus pii7ictatus 

Like so many other of our injurious insects, the 
native home of this species is Europe, from whence it 
was probably introduced into America many years ago, 
although it has only been seriously destructive here for 
a comj^aratively few years. It was first noticed in New 
York State, and as yet has not spread to very many other 
States, although it is likely to do so. 

Dr. C. V. Riley, who first worked out the American 
life history of this si3ecies, has admirably illustrated this 
insect and its injury at Fig. 159. The adult {i, j, k) is 
a dark-brown snout beetle, not quite half an inch long, 
which feeds greedily upon the clover leaves at night, 
remaining concealed among the rubbish on the soil sur- 
face during the day. The female beetles deposit their 
eggs in irregular clusters in the hollow leaf or flower 
stems or between the leaf bracts at the base of the plant. 



294 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Tlie eggs are very small, oval, smootli, and yellowish- 
green. Each female is capable of depositing 200 to 300 
eggs. In about ten days the larva3 hatch and begin 
feeding on the leaves. They are legless little grubs of 
the form shown at c. They continue feeding and grow- 
ing ij), h, V) for seven or eight weeks, increasing much 




FIG. 159. CLOVEK-LEAF BEETLE, h, b, b, b, iarvce feeding; /, COOOOn; 
i, beetle— JiU natural size; a, egg; c, youngj larva; f/, meshes of 
cocoon ; h, pupa; k,j, beetle, back and side views— magnified. 

in size and molting three times during the period. 
The larvse, like the beetles, are mostly nocturnal in their 
habits, and ordinarily remain concealed during the day. 
The full-grown larvae form pale-yellow cocoons, consist- 
ing of a coarse network of silk ( /', g) in the soil, just 
beneath the surface. They pu|)ate (//) within these 



THE CLOVER SEED MIDGE 



295 



cocoons, and a month later emerge as beetles. There is 
aj^parently but one brood each season, although it is 
possible that there may sometimes be two. During the 
early summer months (May and June) it is mostly in its 
immature stages. It ordinarily hibernates as an adult, 
but may also occasionally pass the winter in the other 
stages of its existence. 

Remedies. — The only remedy yet suggested is 
that of plowing under infested fields during May or 
June, thus destroying the immature stages. 

INJURING THE HEAD 

The CIover=seed flidge 

Cecidomyia Uguminicola 

The clover-seed midge is a small orange-colored 
maggot that develops in the clover heads at the expense 
of the young seeds. It 
hatches from eggs laid 
by a very small, two- 
winged fly (Fig. 160, a), 
similar to the Hessian 
fly in appearance. The 
female is provided with 
a long ovipositor with 
which she pushes her 
eggs in among the young 
flowers. When the lar- 
va IS full-grown \p) it^.^^. jgQ clover-seed midge, a, fly; 
wriggles its way out of 6, larva. Magnified. 

the head and falls to the ground, where at or just be- 
neath the soil surface it forms a slight cocoon, within 
which it changes to the pupal state. About ten days 
later the flies emerge to lay eggs for another brood. In 
the Northern States there are tw^o broods each season, 
while at the South there are at least three, and possibly 




i-4 & 



296 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

more. Clover fields infested by this insect are at once 
distinguished by the unnatural condition of the heads at 
time of blossoming; instead of being red with bloom, 
the heads are green and dwarfed on account of the unde- 
veloped florets. 

Remedies. — The best preventive of the injuries of 
this insect yet suggested is that of mowing the field 
about the middle of May (in the latitude of Central Oliio) 
when the green heads are just forming, and leaving the 
partial crop thus cut on the ground as a mulch and fer- 
tilizer. A new crop of blossoms is then produced, which 
comes between the regular crops, and also between the 
two broods of the midge. This method has been tried 
for several years by some of the best farmers of Ohio, 
Avith excellent results. The other remedies ordinarily 
recommended are early cutting of the first crop — about 
ten days earlier than usual — and pasturing the fields in 
spring. But there are serious objections to both these 
methods. 

INJURING THE STEM 

The CIover=stem Borer 

Langiiria mozardi 

This insect has been frequently discussed in ento- 
mological literature as an enemy to clover, but no record 
has yet been made showing that it ever seriously injures 
this crop. Until lately it was supposed to develop exclu- 
sively in clover, but recent observations indicate that it 
breeds more freely in other plants, especially certain 
weeds of the Composite family, than in clover. The 
adult insect is a small, elongate beetle, about one-fourth 
of an inch long, with the thorax yellowish-red, and the 
wing covers shining bluish-black. The larva is a slender, 
cylindrical creature, with three pairs of jointed legs on 
its under surface near the head, and a pair of pro-legs at 



THE CLOVEK HAY WORM 



297 



the posterior extremity. The pupa is usually of a yel- 
lowish color. 

The eggs of this insect are evidently deposited in a 
great variety of plants, in the stems of which the larvae 
develop, feeding npon the pith of the stalk. So long as 
there is a plentiful supply of wild plants, it is doubtful 
if it becomes of economic importance. 



INJURING THE HAY 

The Clover=hay Worm 

Asopia costatis 

Clover hay that has been standing in the mow or stack 
for some time is often infested by numerous small brown 
worms which web the dried stems and leaves together 
and feed upon them. 
This is the insect 
named above, and 
its various stages are 
represented, natural 
size, at Fig. 161. 
The adult is a very 
pretty little purple 
and. golden moth 
(5, 6) which dej^os- 
its eggs upon such 
clover hay as it has '^ 
access to. Some- 

FIG. 161, CLOVER-HAY WORM. 1, 2, larva; 3 

times the eggs are cocoon ; 4, pupa ; 5, e, moth, 

deposited in the clover heads in the field. The eggs 
soon hatch into small brown worms that become full- 
grown (1, 2) in a few weeks. They then spin silken 
cocoons (3) within which they change to chrysalids (4), 
to emerge soon after as adult moths. There are two or 
more broods each season. 




298 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

Remedies. — It will readily be seen that these insects 
are more likely to prove troublesome when old hay is left 
over from season to season for them to breed in. Conse- 
quently haymows should be thoroughly cleaned out each 
summer, and new stacks should not be put on old founda- 
tions until all of the leavings of the previous season are 
removed. Hay which is thickly infested by the worms 
should be burned. 



INSECTS AFFECTING GRASS 



INJURING THE ROOTS 

The White Grub 

Lachnosterna fusca 

This notorious pest is the young or larva of the 
common May beetle or June bug. Its life history may 
be briefly summarized as follows : The brown beetles, 
shown at 3 and 4, Fig. 162, appear during May and June, 




wwsfi 




FIG. 162. MAY BEETLE. 1, pupa; 2, larva ; 3 and 4, adult. 

and feed at night upon the foliage of various fruit and 
shade trees. They deposit small whitish eggs among 
the roots of grass. These eggs hatch into small, brown- 
headed grubs, that feed upon the roots about them. 
They continue feeding for two seasons, when they are 

299 



300 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

full-grown and resemble 2, Fig. 1G2. They then form 
an oval cell in the soil and change to the pupal state, and 
soon after transform into beetles. The change to the 
pupal and beetle states generally occurs in fall, the beetles 
remaining in the ground until the following spring, so 
that they are often turned up during late fall or early 
spring plowing. 

Remedies. — This insect is one of the most difficult 
pests to fight of its class. It breeds especially in grass 
lands, and often ruins pastures and meadows, while crops 
planted on sod land are very frequently destroyed. There 
is much evidence to prove that with high farming and 
short rotations its injuries may largely be prevented. 
The parent beetles may be destroyed by spraying the 
trees on which they feed with London purple or Paris 
green. It will often pay, when land infested by these 
grubs is to be i)lanted to strawberries or other crops 
which they are liable to injure, to have boys follow the 
plow and collect the grubs as they appear in the furrow. 
In this way a large amount of damage can frequently be 
prevented at very slight expense. The grubs in infested 
meadows may be destroyed by turning swine in the field. 

The rieadow flaggot 

Tipula Hcarnea 

Meadows are sometimes injured by large, dark- 
colored, legless grubs of the form represented at Fig. 
163, a, which feed upon the roots just beneath the 
surface. These are the larvae of crane flies, the large 
two-winged insect represented natural size at c of the 
figure. The adults appear in spring, often in great 
numbers, and deposit numerous eggs in grass lands. In 
a short time these eggs hatch into small blackish grubs 
that feed upon the roots of grasses and other plants. 
They continue feeding for some time before becoming 



THE MEADOW MAGGOT 



301 



full-grown, — their food including much decaying vegeta- 
tion as well as the living roots, — when they are about an 
inch long, and of a dirty grayish-black color. They now 
change to pujiae, one of which is represented at h, and 
about a fortnight later the flies emerge with their long 
legs and slender wings. The larvae are commonly called 
leather jackets or meadow maggots. In England the 




FIG. 163. CRANE FLY. «, larva; h, pupa; c, adult. 



crane flies are called daddy longlegs, although in this 
country this name is usually applied to the harvest 
spiders, a common species of which is represented at 
Plate XIV (p. 2 GO). There are a great many species of 
these crane flies in America, and the later stages of one 



302 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



of the larp^est of tliem arc represented in the accompany- 



ing figure. 

Remedies. — In America these insects rarely become 
sufficiently injurious to require remedial treatment. 
When they do, the most successful plan yet tried is that 
of driving a flock of sheep or herd of swine over the field 
to kill the larvae by their trampling. 

INJURING THE LEAVES 

The Army Worm 

Leiicania unipuncta 

This is one of the most noted insect enemies of 
American agriculture. It occasionally does great damage 

to a variety of cereal 
and forage crops, al- 
though during recent 
years its irruptions ap- 
pear to be growing less 
frequent. The worm 
itself is closely related 
to the cutworms, to 
which it is similar in 
life history and habits. 
It hatches from eggs laid 
by a handsome brown 
moth (Fig. 164, a), be- 
^g^ tween the sheaths of 
J grass blades. The 

FTG. 1G4. ARMTWOKM. r/,moth; ft, larva, youug lai'Vffi hatch in a 

week or ten days, and are at first green, but later become 
ornamented with longitudinal stripes of yellow, gray, 
and black {h). The larva feeds upon the leaves of grass, 
wheat, oats, rye, etc., and becomes full-grown in tibout 
a month from the time of hatching. Ordinarily it re- 
mains concealed about the bases of grass or grain, feed- 




THE ARMY WORM 303 

ing there unnoticed, but occasionally the laryae become 
so numerous that they exhaust their food supplies, and 
then they are forced to seek other feeding grounds. At 
such times the ^* armies" appear, and moving in solid 
masses sweep all grasses and cereals before them. The 
full-grown larvae enter the ground and pupate in earthen 
cells, emerging a fortnight later as moths. In southern 
latitudes there are two or three broods each season, while 
at the North there are one or two. The insect hiber- 
nates both as a moth and larva, although the latter 
doubtless predominates. 

The army worm has a great many enemies with 
which to contend. It is preyed upon by birds, as well 
as by predaceous and parasitic insects, and is subject to 
the attacks of certain bacterial diseases that often sweep 
the larvae off by millions. These various natural enemies 
are the chief means of keeping the pest in check. 

Remedies. — The burning of pastures and meadows 
during fall, winter, or spring, especially the latter, is 
very often recommended as a remedy for the army worm, 
and large numbers of the larvae may thus be destroyed. 
The migration of the worms from field to field may be 
prevented by plowing deep furrows with the perpen- 
dicular sides away from the worms, or by setting fence 
boards on edge, leaning a little toward the worms, and 
smearing the upper edge with coal tar. With the 
improved appliances for distributing Paris green and 
London purple now in use, these poisons will no doubt 
be more largely used in suppressing future outbreaks of 
these worms than in the past. It is quite probable also 
that we may before long be able to fight them by means 
of the germs of the contagious diseases to which they are 
subject. 



304 IlSrSECTS AKD INSECTICIDES 

Grasshoppers 

Acrididce 

The family of locusts or short-liorned grasshoppers 
— commonly called simply grassho^^tpcrs — contains many 
species which are more or less injurious in pastures and 
meadows. The hind legs of these insects are long and 
strong, enabling them to make the leaps or hoj^s which 
has given them their common name. Tlie largest species 
of this family inhabiting the United States is the bird 
grasshopper or American locust {Acridmm a^nericanuyii), 
represented natural size at Fig. 165. At a little distance, 
when flying, this handsome insect might easily be mis- 




FIG. 165. BIRD GRASSHOPPER OR AMERICAN LOCUST. 

taken for a small bird. It inhabits the Southern States, 
but occurs rather commonly as far north as the fortieth 
degree of latitude. 

The Eocky Mountain locust or Western grasshopper 
{Melmioplus spretus) is the most destructive American 
insect of this family. Its stages of growth are shown at 
Fig. 1C6. The eggs are laid during the late summer or 
early autumn months, in masses of twenty or thirty each, 
in the soil just below the surface. They remain over 
winter in this condition, hatching in spring into wingless 
little hoppers as shown at a, a. They gradually increase 
in size, and cast their skins after a short time, when they 



GEASSHOPPEES 



305 



resemble i. They acquire wing i^ads in the stage imme- 
diately preceding that of the adult, as shown at c, and 
finally become full-fledged {d). They are active during 
their entire existence. The native home of this species 
is in the high and dry table-lands of the Rocky Mountain 
regions, where it breeds year after year. Occasionally it 
becomes so abundant in these regions that the food 
supply is exhausted, and it is compelled to seek by flight 
green pastures. It is at such times that these insects 
migrate in vast swarms to the fertile fields of the Missis- 
sippi valley, destroying every vestige of greenness in 
their path. Fortunately, 
however, they are unable 
to breed i^ermaneutly at 
these lower levels, and 
although eggs are depos- 
ited by these invading 
hordes, the young hoppers 
hatched from them seldom 
attain a healthy develop- 
ment. 

The commonest grass- 
hopper in the Northern fig. lee. rocky mountain locust. 
States is called the red- ?eic%e^iT/rnpro?^^?;.p^a;';;;^Lxfit 
legged locust {Melanoplus femur-ruhrum). It is closely 
allied and very similar to the Rocky Mountain locust. 
It frequently becomes seriously destructive in restricted 
localities, but never does the widespread damage of its 
Western congener. The life history of this species has 
been summarized by Professor S. A. Forbes as follows : 
''These locusts are single-brooded; they hibernate in 
the egg, hatching in midsummer; pass through five suc- 
cessive molts, gaining their full size, and with tliis their 
wings, in August, and commence to lay eggs in September. 
The females deposit these in the earth, boring cylindrical 
holes for the purpose with the abdomen, and laying the 




306 INSECTS AN^D INSECTICIDES 

eggs in a symmetrical mass within the hurrow thus 
formed. With the egg mass is extruded a quantity of 
mucus, which soon hardens and forms a sort of case or 
matrix, in which the eggs are imbedded. The upper 
part of the hole is also filled with this mucus. The fe- 
male is commonly busied from two to four or five hours 
in the deposit of a single egg mass, and lays, ordinarily, 
from two to four such masses in different holes, upon 
differeut days, commencing the process of oviposition, 
as a rule, about a month after she has acquired her 
wings. After this process is completed the exhausted 
females soon perish. They select by preference, for 
oviposition, hard and dry ground, roadsides and pastures 
being especially favorite localities. Meadows and pas- 
tures are commonly resorted to by the mature females, 
especially the latter, as the eggs seem not to be laid 
ordinarily on ground covered by luxuriant vegetation. 
I have never known them deposited in cultivated earth. 

*^The food habits of these locusts are extremely 
simple, and consist in eating nearly everything that 
comes in their way. They are quiet at night, and indeed, 
as they mature, they select elevated positions as roosts, 
climbing to the tops of stems of grass in meadows, to 
the tassels of the stalks in cornfields, and even deserting 
fields of low herbage if they can find more elevated roost- 
ing points near by. When very abundant, and when the 
weather continues dry, they occasionally swarm like the 
Rocky Mountain locust, but rarely flying continuously 
to any great distance, or indeed taking any definite 
course." 

Fortunately there are a considerable number of 
species of animals that depend, to a greater or less extent, 
upon grasshoppers for subsistence. Some of these are 
predaceous, others parasitic, but all combine in keeping 
the pests in check. Prominent among those efficient in 
this work are the species that live upon or within the 



GRASSHOPPERS 307 

eggs of the locusts, as the latter exist in that state for 
the longest period of their lives, and are also then the 
most helpless and susceptible to injury. The common 
blister beetles {Epicauta) live, so far as known, in their 
larval state, exclusively upon the eggs of locusts, and are 
thus of immense benefit to man. Small red mites, which 
are frequently seen attached to the bodies of the mature 
locusts, are also of benefit, in that while young they suck 
the life juices of the locusts, and later, puncture their 
eggs and extract the contents. The larvae of the common 
black ground beetles (CaraMdce), which are to a great 
extent carnivorous, also feed upon the eggs, and, as they 
are everywhere abundant, contribute not a little to lessen- 
ing their numbers. Certain species of tw^o-winged flies 
(Diptera) are also known to be parasitic upon the eggs 
as well as upon the adults. 

Remedies. — The time when grasshoppers can most 
successfully be fought is when they are either in the egg 
or young larval states. Shallow plowing and harrowing 
during autumn of fields where they are deposited, will 
break up many of the egg pods, exposing them to enemies 
and the weather. The methods by which young locusts 
may be destroyed have been classified by the United 
States Entomological Commission as follows : (1) burn- 
ing, (2) crushing, (3) trapping, (4) catching, (5) use 
of destructive agents. By the first method old hay 
or straw is scattered "over and around the field in heaps 
and windrows, into which the locusts for some time after 
they hatch may be driven and burned." When the 
weather is cold and damp the locusts will seek the shelter 
of the hay or straw, and may easily be burned before 
escaping. This method is w^ell adapted to upland pas- 
tures, where the eggs are usually deposited in the greatest 
numbers. 

For the successful application of the second method 
mentioned above, it is necessary that the surface of the 



308 IXSECTS AI^D INSECTICIDES 

fields on which it is applied should be smooth and hard. 
Here, again, the upland pastures present unusually favor- 
able opportunities for successful work. Dr. Riley states : 
*' Where the surface of the ground presents this charac- 
ter, heavy rolling can be successfull}^ employed, especi- 
ally in the mornings and evenings of the first eight 
or ten days after the newly hatched young have made 
their appearance, as they are generally sluggish during 
these times, and huddle together until after sunrise." 

The third head given above, that of trapping, 
includes ditching, trenching, and the use of pans covered 
with coal oil, or coal tar. In the first two processes, 
ditches or trenches are dug in favorable situations, into 
which the young insects are driven. Probably the use 
of pans covered with coal oil will be as simple and advis- 
able a method, unless we except that of rolling, as can 
be employed in most infested districts. A small pan 
which is well adapted for the purpose is described as 
follows: ^^ A good and cheap pan is made of ordinary 
sheet iron eight feet long, eleven inches wide at the bot- 
tom, and turned up a foot high at the back and an inch 
high at the front. A runner at each end, extending 
some distance behind, and a cord extending to each front 
corner, completes the pan, at a cost of about $1.50." 
The upper surface of the bottom is w^ct with kerosene, 
and the pans are palled rapidly through the field by 
boys who take hold of the ropes. 

The use of destructive agents, such as London purple, 
Paris green, and the like, has not been attended with 
any very great success when applied on a large scale. 
But for limited areas, doubtless a great many of the 
locusts may thus be easily destroyed. A mixture Avhich 
has been successfully employed consists of "arsenic, 
sugar, bran, and water, the proportions being one part, 
by weight, of arsenic, one of sugar, and five of bran, to 
which is added a certain (juantity of water. The arsenic 



GRASSHOPPERS 309 

and bran are first mixed together, then the sugar is 
dissolved in water and added to the bran and arsenic, 
after which a sufficient quantity of Avater is added to 
thoroughly wet the mixture. About a teaspoonful of 
this mixture is thrown upon the ground at the base of 
each tree or vine (in gardens or orchards) and left to do 
its work. The poison works slowly, seldom killing its 
victim within eight or ten hours after it has been eaten." 



Insect pests of Domestic Animals 
AND the Household 




PLATE XVI.— THE 8CKEW WORM. 



INSECTS AFFECTING DOMESTIC 
ANIMALS 



The Screw Worm 

Gompsomyia macellaria 

The screw worm, so fur as its injuries are concerned, 
is a Southern insect. Until recently little or no damage 
from it had been reported outside of Texas, but lately it 
has been injurious in Louisiana, Mississippi, and otlier 
Southern States. The fly, however, occurs throughout 
America ''from Canada to Patagonia," probably breediug 
in northern latitudes in decaying animal and vegetable 
matter. Although in the South cattle are especially 
liable to the attacks of this insect, it is by no means con- 
fined to them, for horses, mules, hogs, sheep, dogs, and 
in some recorded cases even men, suffer on account of it. 

''In all animals alike," according to Dr. M. Francis, 
who has studied this insect carefully, "the eggs, after 
being laid by the fly, hatch into larvae, or so-called 
'worms.' The exact length of time this requires seems 
to vary with circumstances. My present opinion is that 
if the eggs are laid in a moist place and on a warm day, 
it requires less than one hour ; whereas if laid in a dry 
place, they seem to dry up and lose their vitality. The 
young larvae, when first hatched, are small and easily 
overlooked. If they are hatched on the surface in a drop 
of blood from a ruptured tick, for instance, they attempt 
to perforate the skin, and if hatched in wounds they at 
once become buried out of sight. They seem to attach 

313 



314 liJSECTS AISD IJS'JSECTICIDES 

themselves by tlieir heads, and burrow tlieir way under 
the skin, completely devouring the soft flesh. Occasion- 
ally a few are seen moving from one place to another, 
but usually they remain fixed at one point. The worms 
grow steadily in size, and the hole in the flesh becomes 
larger every day. Sometimes the worm makes tunnels, 
but not to any depth ; they usually stay on the surface. 
They evidently produce considerable irritation, for the 
part is always swollen and constantly bleeding. This 
swollen, gaping appearance of the wounds, together with 
the constant discharge of blood, are characteristic of the 
23resence of Avorms. It seems to require about a week 
for the worms to become fully grown. At that time they 
are about five-eighths to six-eighths of an inch long. 
They then leave the sore and go into the ground, where 
they pass the pupal state, and hatch out as flies in from 
nine to twelve days." 

In the accompanying plate (XVI) the eggs are shown 
at a and i, the first representing a single egg, greatly 
enlarged, and the second a bunch of eggs, also enlarged ; 
the larva is represented at c, and the puparium at d aud 
e, the former showing the mode of exit of the fly, which 
is represented at / and g. 

The egg of this insect is one-twenty-fifth inch long, 
whitish, and cylindrical, wdtli a longitudinal ridge on 
one side. The full-grown larva is one-fifth inch long by 
one-sixth inch in diameter. It is a whitish, footless 
grub, W'ith transverse rows of stifl, black bristles at each 
articulation. The pujiarium is brown, and two-fifths 
inch long. The imago is described as follows : Length, 
two-fifths inch ; wing expanse, four-fifths inch ; color, 
metallic bluish-green, with golden reflections ; thorax, 
with three black, longitudinal stripes ; head, except 
central portion of eyes, yellow ; legs, black ; wing veins, 
black ; wings, transparent, except near base, wdiere they 
are slightly clouded ; entire body furnished with long. 



THE OX WARliLE OR HEEL FLY 



315 



black, spinose hairs ; proboscis of medium length, with 
dilated tip. 

Remedies. — According to Dr. Francis, the treat- 
ment usually employed consists simply of killing the 
larvae with cresylic ointment, calomel, chloroform, or 
carbolic acid. Inasmucli as the insect is able to develop 
freely in decaying animal and vegetable matter, it is 
important, as a preventive measure, that all refuse be 
promptly buried or burned. 

The Ox=warble or Heel Fly 

Hypodevma llneata 

During the spring and early summer one may often 
find along the middle of the backs of cattle, just beneath 
the skin, a hard lump, usually having in the center an 




c d 

FIG. 167. AN OX WARBLE, a, larva ; 6, pupa ; c, fly ; d, section of warble. 

opening, which sometimes is more or less of a running 
sore. These are the ''warbles," and the lump is caused 
by the presence of a whitish or grayish maggot of the 
form represented at a, Fig. 167, which represents a species 
closely related to the one here considered. The life 



316 



INSECTS AND IKSECTICIDES 



history of this insect is remarkable. The eggs are laid 
in spring by the flies on the hairs of cattle, especially on 
the hinder portion of the body and about the heels. 
^^The cattle licking themselves remove the eggs and 
hairs, for this is the shedding season. The eggs hatch 
by virtue of the warmth of the mouth, and the newly 
liatched larva, provided with a number of spinous points 
and anal hooks, penetrates through the walls of the 
oesophagus. It then molts, looses the spines, and becomes 

almost entirely smooth 
with the exception of some 
very minute spines around 
the anal portion. Its skin 
is underlaid with strong 
muscular bands, fitting it 
for pushing its way 
through the tissues. In 
this stage its development 
is very slow, and it grad- 
ually works its way through 
the subcutaneous tissue, 
traveling for nine or ten 
months, until it has 
reached a favorable point 
upon the back, where it 
molts again, assuming the familiar, spiny appearance of 
the mature larva, becomes encysted by virtue of the 
inflammation of the tissue, and from this inflammation 
and from its own growth forms a decided lump under 
the skin. After another molt the skin of the animal is 
penetrated, and eventually the larva issues through this 
hole and falls to the ground to transform to the pupa."* 
In about a month it emerges as an adult fly (Fig. 168). 
The ulceration caused by these larvae is not only dis- 




FIG. 108. AMERICAK OX-WAKBLE FLY 

Magnified. 



*C. V. Riley 



THE OX WARBLE OR HEEL FLY 317 

tressing to the animal, but injures the hide and beef, 
and, in the case of dairy animals, lessens the quantity 
of milk produced. 

The beef beneath these warbles has a peculiar, dis- 
eased, sickening appearance, and is commonly called 
"licked beef." Such beef alvrays commands a lower 
price than that which is unaffected. 

Remedies. — Every warble maggot destroyed before 
it escapes to the ground to pupate, means that one 
less fly will be present to lay eggs for the coming 
brood. Tliis should be carefully borne in mind, for 
from it the conclusion is obvious that if all the maggots 
present in the backs of cattle of a given neighborhood 
are killed, the egg-laying brood of flies will be extermi- 
nated, and there will be no injury the next season. 
There is perhaps no other important injurious insect 
whose numbers can be so readily controlled ; and the 
exjDerience of English farmers shows that by concerted 
action and the continuation of the treatment, the amount 
of warble attack may be very rapidly lessened. 

Perhaps the simplest remedy is to squeeze the 
maggots out of the wjirbles. When they are nearly full- 
grown this can be done with little trouble. A pair of 
medium sized forceps is often helpful in removing them. 

Another simple remedy is to apply to the opening a 
little oil or grease, which closes the breathing pores of 
the maggot, thus causing it to die. Kerosene applied to 
the warbles either in autumn, winter or sj^ring also 
destroys them, as does indeed the apjilication of almost any 
oily or fatty substance. Train oil or fish oil is especially 
commended in England. Dr. 0. V. Riley says that 
smearing the animals' backs with this substance *^Ms the 
simplest and easiest method of destroying the warbles, 
which it does by closing the breathing pores on the pos- 
terior end of the body. The destruction of the larvge in 
this way may be effected by one or two applications in 



318 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



an inch long, and the males are somewhat smaller, 



autumn, and is the most satisfactory method of con- 
trolling the pest." 

Cattle Lice 

There are three species of lice infesting cattle. Two 
of these belong to the group of sucking lice and the third 
is one of the biting lice. They are called (1) the short- 
nosed ox louse, (2) the long-nosed ox louse, and (3) the 
bitnig ox louse. 

The short-nosed ox louse {Hmnatojiinus em^yster- 
nus) is represented considerably magnified at Fig. 169, 
a. Full-grown females of this species are one-sixth of 

The 
beak or rostrum is provided 
with little hooks by v/hich it 
may be firmly attached to the 
skin, and within these hooks 
there is a slender sucking 
tube having a j^iercing extrem- 
ity which the insect 2:>ushes 
RTm!?P^ through the skin of its host, 
and sucks the blood. The 
eggs are glued to the hairs of the cattle, and the young 
lice do not differ essentially in appearance from the adults, 
except, of course, in size. These insects generally infest 
the neck and shoulders of cattle. 

The long-nosed ox louse (ffwmatopimcs vituli) is 
represented magnified at Fig. 169, h. As will be seen, 
it differs materially in appearance from the other species, 
being at once distinguished by its longer and more slen- 
der body. It is about one-eighth of an inch long, and 
obtains its food by suction. 

An idea of the form of the biting ox louse ( Trich- 
odecfes scalaris) may be obtained from Fig. 169, c, which 
represents a closely related insect infesting horses. This 
species difl'ers also in color from the sucking cattle lice, 
being of a reddish hue. Its eggs are glued to the hairs 




nifiecl. 



LICE. 

biting horse louse. 



THE HORIT PLY 319 

of the cattle. It is very abundant in all parts of the 
world where domestic cattle are found. 

Remedies. — The best method of destroying lice on 
cattle and other domestic animals is to apply a thoroughly 
prepared emulsion of kerosene and soap, made as directed 
in the Introduction (page 43). If this is well made it 
can be ap^^lied to cattle and horses, hogs and sheep, with 
no danger of injury to them, while it will destroy all the 
lice with which it comes in contact. Professor C. P. 
Gillette, who first gave this method a thorough trial, 
recommends applying it with a force pump and spray 
nozzle, rubbing it in thoroughly with the finger tips at 
the same time. It kills the lice and leaves the hair of 
the animal in good condition. The lice may also be 
destroyed by treating with a strong tobacco decoction — a 
pound of tobacco being boiled in two gallons of water — 
or a wash of carbolic-acid soap. But the first-named 
remedy is best. 

The Horn Fly 

Hmmatohia serrata 

This is an imported insect which has lately attracted 
much attention in the Eastern States. It is called the 




FIG. 170. a, horn fly, magnified; 6, cow horn with band of resting flies, 
reduced. 

horn fly because of the jDeculiar habit the flies have of 
gathering in clusters upon the base of the horn, as repre- 



320 INSECTS Ajq-D INSECTICIDES 

sented in Fig. 170, h. They light here to avoid being 
disturbed by the heads or tails of the cattle, but do not 
pierce the horn or do any serious injury to it. On the 
body, however, where they light when feeding, they 
insert their beaks into the skin, injecting at the same 
time a little poisonous secretion which causes irritation 
and inflammation, and a flow of blood to the spot. This 
blood is then sucked into the stomach of the fly. Cows 
thus attacked become restless and irritable, and, if the 
flies are very numerous, they lose flesh and give less 
milk. 

The eggs of the horn fly are deposited in freshly 
dropped cow dung in which the larvae develop, and 
pupate in the soil beneath. There are four or five broods 
each season. During hot weather the transformations 
of the insect — from ^gg to imago — may be completed 
within two weeks. 

Remedies. — Two classes of preventives may be 
used against this insect. The injuries to cattle may be 
prevented by applying to their bodies, by means of a 
sponge, fish oil to which has been added a little carbolic 
acid. Only the tips of the hnirs need be wet, and the 
application should be repeated every four or five days. 
This will keep the flies off the animals though it does 
not kill them. They may be killed, however, by the use 
of tobacco powder, dusted on the cattle, especially on 
the back, tail, neck, and base of the horns. Professor 
J. B. Smith recommends the use of the carbolated fish 
oil on the belly, udder, and other parts of the body where 
the tobacco cannot well be applied, and the apj^lication 
of the powder to the other parts. The larvae also may 
be destroyed by spreading out the cow droppings each 
morning, so that they will dry up, and thus prevent the 
development of the eggs or maggots, or by mixing plaster 
with the manure in the stable or field. 



LICE 12TFESTIKG HOUSES 321 

Lice Infesting Horses 

Three species of lice infest the horse. The first is 
the sucking horse louse {Hmmatopinus asini) which is 
represented, considerably magnified, at Fig. 171, a. It 
is somewhat similar to the sucking ox louse, to which it 
is closely related, but is easily distinguished from that 
species by the shape of the head. It is the rarest of the 
three species infesting the horse, tho next commonest 
one being the rarer biting horse louse (Trichodectes 
pilosus) represented at Fig. 171, h, which, as its name 
indicates, is less abundant than the 
third species — the common biting 
horse louse {Trichodectes parum- 
jnlosus), which is shown at Fig. 
1 169, c. This last is the most abun- 
dant and annoying, and is espe- 
cially liable to infest colts or horses 
that have been in pasture for some 
^ ^^^ time. It occurs mostly about the 

FIG. 171. a, sucking horse head, mauc, and tail : and is ^en- 

louse; h, biting horse i/ ^i • , ^ . ^, 

louse. Magnified. crally thickest m spring. The 

front part of the body is brownish, and the abdomen is 
yellowish white, with eight transverse dark bands upon 
the back. 

Remedies. — The remarks concerning remedies for 
cattle lice are equally applicable to these species. 




21 



INSECT PESTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD 



Cockroaches 



Cockroaches are among the most omnivorous as well 
as omnipresent of the insect j^ests of the household. 
Their flattened bodies especially fit them to dwell in 
cracks and crevices, in tlie walls of houses in cities, and 
beneath the loose bark of fallen trees in the woods. Here 
they find congenial retreats and flourish abundantly. 
They take a great variety of food. In dwellings they 
destroy provisions of every kind, although, as a partial 
recompense, perhaps, they are also said to prey upon 
bedbugs. 

As has been so often the case with our injurious 
insects, we are indebted to Europe for the cockroaches 
that are most obnoxious. The American cockroach 
{Peri2)la7ieta americana) occurs commonly in the fields 
and woods, and occasionally is found in houses. But 
the oriental cockroach [Penjilaneta orientalis) and the 
Oroton bug or German cockroach {PJiyllodromia ger- 
manica) — both imported species — prefer the city dwell- 
ing, where, around the steam and water pipes of the 
kitchen, laundry or bathroom, they can run about undis- 
turbed. They are nocturnal in their habits, remaining 
concealed during the day, and sallying forth in search of 
food during the night. 

The life history of the Croton bug has been admirably 
portrayed by Dr. C. V. Riley at Fig. 172. The eggs are 
laid in a pod or eg^ case (/, g) from which the young 
roaches hatch. They pass through various molts as 

322 



COCKROACHES 



323 



represented at a, h, c, d, and do not acquire wings until 
full-grown {e, f, h), when they are nearly two-thirds of 
an inch long. The other roaches develop in a similar 
way. 

Remedies. — The best remedy for these j)ests is a 
good quality of insect powder, such as buhach. In 
recommending this, Dr. Riley says : ''Just before night- 
fall go into the infested rooms and puff it into all crevices, 




FIG. 172. CROTON BUG. a, first stage; b, second stage; c, tliircl stage; 
d, fourth stage; e, adult; /, adult female with egg case; </, egg 
case— enlarged ; h, adult with Avings spread— all" natural size 
except g. 

under baseboards, into drawers and cracks of old furni- 
ture — in fact wherever there is a crack — and in the 
morning the floor will be covered with dead and dyiug or 
demoralized and paralyzed roaches, which may easily be 
swept up or otherwise collected and burned. AVith clean- 
liness and persistency in these methods the pest may be 
substantially driven out of a house, and should never 
be allowed to get full possession by immigrants from 
without." 



324 



IKSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Buffalo Carpet Beetle 

Anthrenus scrophularice 
The buffalo carpet beetle is supposed to have been 
introduced into America from Europe about 1876, since 
when it has done great damage and spread over a large 
portion of the Eastern and Central United States. The 
adult beetle (Fig. 173, d) is about a quarter of an inch 
long, black, with white spots, as shown in the figure, and 
has a red stripe along the middle of the back. Eggs are 
laid by these beetles, probably upon carpets themselves. 




FIG. 173. CARPET BEETLE, rt, larva, back view ; ft, larva, view of under 
side; c, pupa; d, beetle. Magnified. 

and soon hatch into larvae that feed upon the carpets. 
It is in this larval stage that the damage is done. The 
larvae cast their skins occasionally as they develop, and 
the time required for them to become full-grown varies 
according to the temperature and food supply. When 
full-grown they are peculiar, hairy creatures of the 
form represented at a and h of the accompanying figure. 
They now hide in a crack or crevice, and change to pupae 
{c) inside the hairy skin. In a short time they again 
change to the beetle state, the beetles emerging through- 
out the fall, winter, and spring. There is probably, in 
ordinary cases, but one generation a year, at least in the 
Northern States. 



THE BEDBUG 325 

Remedies. — In Europe this insect does very little 
damage, because rugs are used instead of carpets. Rugs 
are taken up and shaken so often that the insects have 
no opportunity to multiply. The use of rugs should 
therefore be encouraged in regions where the insect is 
troublesome. 

Perhaps the most practical way of really destroying 
these insects in carpets without taking them up, is to lay 
two or three thicknesses of wet cloths on the carpet, and 
iron with hot fiatirons. Steam will thus be generated, 
which will permeate the carpet and kill the insects. The 
pests may readily be killed in furniture or garments by 
the use of benzine or gasoline, applied as a spray by some 
sort of atomizer, always remembering that these suhstances 
must not come m contact tvith fire in amj shape. '* At 
housecleaning time," says Dr. Riley, ''as many of the 
rooms should be bared at once as possible, and the house- 
keeper should go carefully over the rooms, removing all 
dust, and with a hand atomizer charged with benzine 
should puff the liquid into all the floor cracks and under 
the baseboards until every crevice has been reached. 
The carpets themselves, after thorough beating, should 
be slightly sprjiyed with the same substance, which will 
quickly evaporate, leaving no odor after a short time. 
The inflammability of benzine, however, should be remem- 
bered, and no light should be brought near it." 

The Bedbug 

Acanthia lectnlaria 

A short account of this notorious pest will be suffi- 
cient for the present purpose. Many people will rec- 
ognize the peculiar flattened creatures represented at Fig. 
174, as former acquaintances, and those who do not so 
recognize them are to be congratulated. The eggs of 



326 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



these insects are laid in the cracks of walls and bedsteads, 
and the young {a) do not differ essentially, except in 
size, from the adult (b). Bedbugs are able to exist a 

long time without food, and 
on the other hand, when 
food is abundant they mul- 
tiply with remarkable ra- 
pidity. 

Remedies. — Spraying 
the cracks of walls, beds, 
etc., where these insects 
occur with benzine is the 




BEDBUG, a, young: 
adult. Magnified. 



best manner of destroying them. This substance kills 

Great care, of course. 



the eggs as well as the adults, 
should be taken to prevent their 



ingress to the house. 



Clothes rioths 

There are three closely related insects in the United 
States which may properly be called clothes moths. 
They are quite similar in appearance, but the hirvse 
differ somewhat in feeding habits. The commonest one 
probably is the case-making clothes moth ( Tinea pelli- 
onella), the life history of which Dr. Riley has thus 
summarized: "The small light-brown moths, distin- 
guished by the darker spots at intervals on the wings, 
begin to appear in May and are occasionally seen flitting 
about as late as August. They pair and the female then 
searches for suitable places for the deposition of her eggs, 
working her Avay into dark corners and deep into the 
folds of garments, ai)parently choosing by instinct the 
least conspicuous places. From these hatch the white, 
soft-bodied larva?, each one of which begins immediately 
to make a case for itself from the fragments of the cloth 
upon which it feeds. The case is in the shape of a hollow 
roll or cylinder and the interior is lined with silk. As 




CLOTHES MOTHS 327 

they grow they enlarge these cases by adding material to 
either end and by inserting gores down the sides which 
they spHt open for the purpose. The larva reaches its 
full growth toward winter, and then crawling into some 
yet more protected spot, remains there torpid through 
the winter within its case, which is at this time tliickencd 
and fastened at either end with silk. The transforma- 
tion to pupa takes place 
within the case the fol- 
lowing spring, and the 
moths soon afterward 
issue. The larva feeds 
in all woolen cloths, and 
also in haircloth, furs 
and feathers. ^j^ iy5 clothes moth. «, moth: 

Remedies.— Under larva; c, web. Magnified. 

this head we cannot do better than to quote the follow- 
ing remarks by Dr. Eiley, who lately published an ad- 
mirable series of articles, first in Good Househeeping and 
afterwards in Insect Life, to which we are largely in- 
debted for the information and illustrations on this sub- 
ject. He says: '^During the latter part of May or 
early in June a vigorous campaign should be entered 
upon. All carpets, clothes, cloth-covered furniture, furs 
and rugs should be thoroughly shaken and aired, and, 
if possible, exposed to the sunlight as long as practicable. 
If the house is badly infested, or if any particular arti- 
cle is supposed to be badly infested, a free use of benzine 
will be advisable. All floor cracks and dark closets 
should be sprayed with this substance. Too much 
pains cannot be taken to destroy every moth and 
every Qgg and every newly hatched larva, for im- 
munity for the rest of the year depends largely— 
almost entirely— upon the thoroughness with which the 
work of extermination is carried on at this time. The 
benzine spray will kill the insect in every stage, and it 



328 INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

is one of tlie few substances which will destroy the egg. 
I would however repeat the caution as to its inflamma- 
bility. No light should be brought into a room in which 
it has been used until after a thorough airing and until 
the odor is almost dissipated. 

**Tlie proper packing away of furs and winter cloth- 
ing through- the summer is a serious matter. A great 
deal of unnecessary expenditure in the way of cedar chests 
and cedar wardrobes and various compounds in the way 
of powders has been urged by writers on these pests. 
But experience fully proves that after a thorough treat- 
ment in May or June, garments may be safely put away 
for the rest of the season with no other protection than 
wrapping them closely in stout paper, to preclude infec- 
tion through some belated female. My assistant, Mr. 
L. 0. Howard, tells me of an excellent plan which he 
has adopted. He buys for a small sum from liis tailor a 
number of pasteboard boxes in wliich they deliver suits, 
and his wife carefully folds and packs away all clothing, 
gumming a strip of wrapping paper around the edges of 
the cover so as to leave no crack. These boxes will last 
for a lifetime with careful use. Others use for the same 
purpose ordinary paper flour sacks or linen pillowcases, 
which answer well. The success of these means depends 
entirely on the thoroughness of the preliminary work. 
Camphor, tobacco, napthaline, and other strong odorants 
are only partial repellants. and without the precaution 
urged are of little avail. 

" Cloth-covered furniture which is in constant use 
will not be harmed, and the same may be said of cloth- 
lined carriages. Where such furniture is stored away or 
kept unused in a dark room, or- where the carriages are 
left in a dark coach house through the summer, at 
least two sprayings with benzine, say once in June and 
once about August flrst, will be advisable. Another 
plan which will act as a protection in such cases is to 



ANTS 329 

sponge tlie cloth linings and covers both sides where pos- 
sible, with a dilute solution of corrosive sublimate in 
alcohol, made just strong enough not to leave a white 
mark on a black feather." 

Ants 

Ants frequently become one of the most annoying 
kinds of household pests by getting into and running 
over everything. The species most generally troublesome 
is the little red ant [Monomorium pharaonis), which is 
worldwide in its distribution — although it is said to have 
been originally a native of Europe. The worker of this 
ubiquitous pest is rej^resented at Fig. 176, a; and the 
female at b, of the same 
figure. The nests are 
made in almost any con- 
cealed position about the 
house — under floors, be- 
hind baseboards, between 
walls, or in the walks or 
grass about the house. 

?, ., J ii P FIG. 176. LITTLE KED ANT. «, worker ; 

l^rom these nests the for- b, female. Magnified. 

aging parties sally forth and overrun the house, devour- 
ing or carrying off particles of food of all descriptions, 
getting into everything in sight, and often becoming an 
intolerable nuisance. 

Remedies. — The first essential to a successful fight 
with these insects is to find the location of the nests. 
If they can then be reached it is easy to destroy them by 
means of benzine, gasoline, bisulphide of carbon, or even 
hot water — anything in fact, that will kill them. If any 
inflammable or explosive substances are used, of course 
great care must be taken to keep away fire in any form. 

There are certain larger ants that are frequently 
troublesome on lawns, by making tlieir nests above the 




3oU INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 

surface of the grass, and thus disfiguring them. A 
simple way of destroying these is recorded by Dr. Riley, 
as follows : A number of holes are j)unched in the nest 
by means of a pointed stick ; a teaspoonful of bisulphide 
of carbon is then poured down each hole, and a damp 
blanket is thrown over the nest for a few minutes — then 
the blanket being removed, the bisulphide is exploded at 
the mouth of each hole by means of a light at the end of 
a pole. The slight explosions drive the poisonous fumes 
down through the underground tunnels, killing off the 
ants in enormous numbers. 

The little red ants may be trapped by means of 
small sponges, saturated with sweetened water, and then 
occasionally dropped into boiling water. But tliis is a 
much less satisfactory method than that of destroying 
them in their nests. 



INDEX 



Page 

Abbot sphinx 179 

Acantliia lectularia 324 

Acridium americaniim 304 

Acrididse 17, 304 

Aegeria pyri 94 

Agrotls saucia 257 

Agrilus rnficollis 163 

American cockroacli 322 

" locust 304 

Anarsia lineatella 138 

Anasa tristis 238 

Angoumis grain motli 290 

Anisota rubiciinda 206 

Anisopteryx poinetaria 79 

" vernata 81 

Antlionomous quadrigibus 92 

" signatus 144 

A ntlirenus scrophulariae 324 

Ants 21, 329 

Apanteles congregatus 32 

Apliides 218 

Aphis, apple 78 

" black peach 123 

" brassicae 259 

" maidis 274 

" maidi-radicis 267 

" mali 78 

" persicse-niger 123 

" prunifolii 115 

Apple, insects affecting 63 

" aphis 78 

" caterpillar, yellow- 
necked 84 

" curculio 92 

" leaf roller, lesser 83 

" leaf skeletonizer 87 

" maggot 2,88 

" tent caterpillar 81 

" tree borer, flat-headed . 65 
" " " round-headed 63 

" worm 88 

Army worm 302 

Arsenate of lead 42 

Asopia costatis 297 

Asparagus beetle 263 

Aspidiotus perniciosus 95 

Bacterial diseases Of insects. . . 37 

Bagworm 204 

Bean weevil 242 

Beautiful wood nymph 183 

Bedbug 325 

Beetles 20 



Page 

Bembecia marcinata 159 

Bird grasshopper 16, 304 

Blackberry, insects affecting.. 159 

gallfly 165 

Blissus leucopterus 280 

Blister beetle, black 232 

" " strii^ed 231 

BoUworm 275 

Bonibycida^ 19 

Box-elder bug 211 

Braconidoe 23 

Bruchus obsoletus 242 

" pisi 243 

Budworm 74 

Buffalo tree hopper 72 

" carpet beetle 324 

Cabbage, insects affecting 245 

aphis 259 

" iQiaggot 245 

" worm, imported 250 

" plusia 253 

" cutworms 256 

Cacsecia cerasivorana 130 

" argyrospila 132 

Calandra granaria 288 

Cankerworm 79 

fall 79 

" spring 81 

Carabidae 20 

Carpet beetle 324 

Carpocapsa pomonella 88 

Cattle lice 318 

Cecidomyia destructor 270 

" leguminicola 295 

" tritici 288 

Cecropia emperor moth 197 

Cecindelidae 20 

Celery caterpillar 6, 234 

Ceramica picta 254 

Ceresa bubalus 72 

Cherry, insects affecting 128 

aphis 128 

" tree leaf roller 130 

Chinch bug 11, 280 

Chionaspis furfurus 95 

Chrysobothris femorata 65 

Chrysomelida? 21 

Cli.s'iocampa americana 81 

Clothes moths 326 

" " case-making 326 

Clover, insects affecting 292 

'♦ hay worm 297 



331 



332 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



Page 

Clover-leaf beetle 293 

" root borer 292 

•' seed midge 295 

" stem borer 297 

Cockroaches 322 

Coccotorus prunicida 118 

Codling moth 88, 112 

Compsomyia macellaria.. . . 313 

Conotrachelus nenuphar 116,127,132 

Corn, Insects atfecting 267 

" aphis 274 

" root apliis 267 

" " worm, western 268 

" stalk borer 272 

" worm. • 275 

Crepidodera cucumeris 237 

Crioceris asparagi 2t;3 

Croton bug 322 

Cucumber, insects affecting.. .. 237 

flea beetle 237 

" beetle, slriped 239 

" " twelve-spotted 241 

Currant, insects affecting 148 

" aphis 151 

" borer 148 

" leaf hopper 151 

" span worm 156 

" leaf bug 152 

" worm, imported 149 

Cutworms 273 

Dactylopius adonidum 220 

" destructor 220 

Dakruma convolutella 157 

Datana angusii 208 

" ministra 84 

Desmia maculalis 182 

Diabrotica vittata 2.39 

" punctata 241, 270 

" longicornis 268 

Diastrophus nebulosus 165 

Dicerca divaricata 128 

Diplosis pyrivora 109 

Diptera 19 

Diseases of insects 37 

Doryphora 10-lineata. 229 

Dragoji flies 13 

Eiaterida3 22, 271 

Emphytus maculatus 142 

Empoji albopicta 151 

Epicserus imbricatus 233 

Epicauta pennsylvanica 232 

vittata 231 

Eriocampa cerasi 132 

Eudemis botrana 184 

End ryas grata 183 

Eufitchia rebearia 156 

Eury creon rantalis 273 

Eall webworm 201 

Four-lined leaf bug 152 

Fluted scale 36 

Fruit-tree leaf roller 132 

bark beetle 112, 123 

Galeruca xantliomelsena 202 

Garden webworm 273 

Gelechia cerealella 290 

German cockroach 322 



Page 

Gooseberry fruit worm 157 

Gortyna nitela 272 

Grain apiiis 284 

*' weevil ^. . . 288 

Grape, insects affecting 167 

" berry moth 184 

" phylloxera 168 

" root borer 167 

" sphinx moths 177 

" vine beetle, spotted — 176 

" " flea-beetle 172 

" " leaf hopper 180 

" " leaf roller 187 

" " sphinx, green 177 

Graphops pubescens 85 

Graptodera chalybea 172 

Grass, insects affecting 299 

Grasshoppers 304 

(4reen-striped maple worm 206 

Gryllidte 17 

Gypsy moth 212 

Hsematopinus eurysternus 318 

" vituli 318 

" asini 321 

Haematobia serrata 319 

Harlequin cabbage bug 258 

Heel fly 315 

Heliothis armigera . 275 

Hellebore 42 

Hemiptera 18 

Hessian fly 278 

flexapoda 12 

Horn fly 319 

Horse louse, sucking 321 

" " biting 321 

Hydrocyanic acid gas 48 

Hvlastfs trifolii 292 

HyniL'uoplera 22 

Hyphantria cunea 201 

Hypoderma lineata 315 

Iclineumonidse 23 

Icerya purchasi 36 

Imported cabbage worm 250 

" currant worm 149 

" elm-leaf beetle 202 

Insects, collecting and pre- 
serving 56 

Insects, orders of 12 

" parasitic 10 

Insecticides, applying 52 

" the principal 39 

Isosoma hordei 286 

tritici 286 

Kerosene 43 

Kerosene emidsion 43 

Lachnosterna fusca 129. 299 

Lachnus denlatus 193 

strobi 193 

Languria mozardi 296 

Leaf beetles 21 

Leaf crumpler 85 

Leaf skeletonizer, apple 87 

Lecanium persica? 81 

pvri 112 

ribis 102 

Lex^tocoris trivittatus 211 



IKDEX. 



333 



Pag:e 

Lepidoptera 18 

Leucaiiia unipuncta 302 

Lime spray 47 

Little red ant 329 

Locustidse 17 

London purple 41 

Lygns pratensis 143 

Macrodactylus subsplnosus 174 

Maple borer 189 

May beetle 129 

Meadow maggot 300 

Mealy bugs 220 

Melanoplus femur-rubrum 305 

" spretus 304 

Melanoxanthus 190 

" salicti 191 

Melittia ceto 235 

Merouiyza americana 285 

Monomorium pharaonis 329 

Monopliadnus rubi 160 

Monastegia rosae 215 

Murgantia histrionica 258 

Mytilas]iis pomorum 67 

Myzus cerasi 128 

" persicaj 126 

" ribis 151 

Natural enemies of injurious 

insects 29 

Nematus ventricosus 149 

Noctuidae 19 

Northern corn-root worm 268 

Oberea bimaculata 160 

Ocnerea dispar 212 

Oecantlnis niveus 161 

Onion, insects affecting 261 

" maggot 261 

Orgyia leueostigma 199 

Oriental cockroacli 322 

Orthoptera 15 

Oyster-sliell bark louse 67, 112 

Ox-warble fly 315 

Ox louse, long-nosed 318 

" " short-nosed 318 

•' " biting 318 

Papilio asterias 16, 234 

Paris green 39 

Pea weevil 243 

Peach, inserts affecting 121 

" aphis 126 

" " black 123 

" tree bark louse 127 

" " borer 121 

Pear, insects affecting 94 

blight beetle 112 

midge : 109 

tree bark louse 112 

" borer 94 

" psvlla 107 

" slug 101, 132 

Pelidnota punctata 176 

Penipelia hammondi 87 

Perphigus tessellata 245 

Periplaneta americana ,. 322 

" orientalis 322 

Pliala^nida:> 19 

Phlegethontius celeus 32 



Page 

Phorbia ceparum 261 

Phoxopteris comptana 140 

Phycis indigenella 85 

Phyllotreta vittata 255 

Phyllodromia germanica 322 

Phylloxera vastatrix 168 

Phytonomus pnnctatus 293 

Pliytoptus pyri i05 

Pieris rapaj 250 

" oleracea 252 

" protodice 252 

Pithy blackberry gall 165 

Plant lice 218 

Platysamia cecropia 197 

Plum, insects affecting 113 

aphis 115 

" curculio 112,116, 132 

" gouger 118 

" tree Iwrer 58 

Phisia brassicai 253 

Poecilocapsus lineatus 152 

Potato-stalk weevil 228 

" beetle, Colorado 229 

Protoporce celeus 225 

Pseudoneuroptera 13 

Psylla pyricola 107 

Pulvinaria innumerabilis 209 

Pyrethrum 43 

Raspberry, insects affecting... 159 

" cane borer 160 

" root borer 159 

" slug 160 

Red-legged locust 305 

Red-necked agrilus 163 

Red spider 219 

Resin washes 47 

Rhopalocera 18 

Rocky Mountain loctist 304 

Rose,' insects affecting 215 

" beetle 174 

" leaf hopper 217 

" slug 215 

Sannina exitiosa 121 

San Jose scale 95 

Sesia tipuliformis 148 

Saperda Candida 63 

Scale lice 220 

Scarabeida?.. 22 

Schizonenra lanigera. 69 

Sclapteron polistiformis 167 

Scolytus rugnlosus 112, 123 

Screw worm 313 

Scnrf y bark lonse 95 

Selandria cerasi 101 

Sesia acerni 189 

Shade trees, insects affecting.. 189 

Siphonophora avense 284 

Snout beetles T 22 

Snowy tree cricket 161 

Southern corn-root worm 270 

Sphingidte 18 

Spotted cucumber beetle 241 

Squash, insects affecting 235 

" vine borer 235 

bug 238 

Strawberry, insects affecting.. 137 



334 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



Page 

Strawberry crown borer 138 

" crown miner 138 

" leaf roller 140 

" root worms 137 

slug 14'2 

" weevil 144 

Tarnished plant but; 143 

Tent caterpillar, apple tree — 81 

Teras minuta 83 

Tetranychus telarius 219 

Thyreus aDbotii 179 

Thyriclopteryx ephenieraefor- 

mis 204 

Thysanura 12 

Tiger beetles 20 

Tinea pellionella 326 

Tipula bicarnea 300 

Tmetocera ocellana 74 

Tobacco 48 

Tobacco worm 32 

Tomato worm 225 

Toothed willow aphis 193 

Tortricidae 19 

Trichobaris trinotata 228 

Trichodectes scalaris 318 

" pilosus 321 



Page 

Trichodectes palumpilosus 321 

Trypeta ponionella 90 

Ty loderma f ragarise 138 

Tyi)hlocybarosai 217 

" vitis 180 

Variegated cutworm 257 

Walnut caterpillar. 208 

Wavy-striped tiea-beetle 255 

Wheat, insects affecting 278 

" bulb worm 285 

" joint worms 286 

midge 288 

White arsenic 42 

White grub 299 

White-marked tussock moth. . . 199 

White-pine aphis 193 

AVillow-grove aphis 191 

Willow-twig aphis 190 

Wireworms 271 

Woolly aphis 69 

Woolly alder aphis 195 

Woolly maple-bark louse 209 

Xylebbrus pyri 112 

Yellow-necked apple-tree cat- 
erpillar 84 

Zebra caterpillar.. . 254 



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approved structures are so fully and clearly described that anyone 
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mining tlie kind best suited to liis iniriiose. The modern and most 
snceessful methods of heating and ventilating are fully treated 
upon. Special chapters are devoted to houses used for the growing 
of one kind of plants exclusively. The construction of hotbeds 
and frames receives appropriate attention. Over one hiuidred ex- 
cellent illustrations, specially engraved for this work, make every 
point clear to the reader and add considerably to the artistic ap- 
pearance of the book. Cloth, 12nio. 1.50 

Bulbs and Tuberous-Rooted Plants. 

By C. L. Allen. A complete treatise on the History, Description, 
Methods of Propagation and full Directions for the successful cul- 
ture of Bulbs in the garden. Dwelling and Greenhouse. As gener- 
ally treated, bulbs are an expensive luxury, while, when properly 
managed, they afford the greatest amount of pleasure at the least 
cost. The author of this book has for many years made bulb grow- 
ing a specialty, and is a recognized authority on their cultivation 
and management. The illustrations which embellish this work 
have been drawn from nature, and have been engraved especially 
for this book. The cultural directions are plainly stated, practical 
and to the point. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Henderson's Practical Floriculture. 

By Peter Henderson. A guide to the successful propagation and 
cultivation of florists' plants. Tlie work is not one for florists and 
gardeners only, but the amateur's wants are constantly kept in 
mind, and we have a very complete treatise on the cultivation of 
flowers under glass, or in the open air, suited to those who grow 
flowers for pleasure as well as those who make them a matter of 
trade. Beautifully illustrated. New and enlarged edition. Cloth, 
12mo. 1.50 

Lon§:'s Ornamental Gardening: for Americans. 

A Treatise on Beautifying Homes, Rural Districts and Cemeteries. 
A plain and practical work at a moderate price, with numerous 
illustrations and instructions so plain that they may be readily 
followed. By Elias A. Long, Landscape Architect. Illustrated, 
Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 



The Propa§:ation of Plants. 



By Andrew S- Fuller. Dlustrated with ntimerous engravings. An 
eminently practical and useful work. Describing the process of 
hybridizing and crossing species and varieties, and also the many 
different modes by whicli cultivated i^lants may be propagated and 
multiplied. Cloth, 12ino. IM 



STANDARD BOOKS. 5 

Parsons on the Rose* 

By Samuel B. Parsons. A treatise on the propagation, culture and 
history of the rose. New and revised edition. In his work upon 
the rose, Mr. Parsons has gathered up the curious legends concern- 
ing the flower, and gives us an idea of the esteem in which it was 
held in former times. A simple garden classification has been 
adopted, and the leading varieties under each class enumerated 
and briefly described. The chapters on multiplication, cultivation 
and training are very full, and the work is altogether one of the 
most complete before the public. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo, 1.00 

Henderson's Handbook of Plants. 

This new edition comprises about fifty per cent, more genera than 
the former one, and embraces the botanical name, derivation, 
natural order, etc., together with a short history of the different 
genera, concise instructions for their propagation and culture, and 
all the leading locator common English names, together with a 
comprehensive glossary of Botanical and Technical terms. Plain 
instructions are also given for the cultivation of the principal veg- 
etables, fruits and flowers. Cloth, large 8vo. 4.00 

Barry's Fruit Garden. 

By P. Barry. A standard work on Fruit and Fmit Trees ; the author 
having had over thirty years' practical experience at the head of 
one of the largest nurseries in this country. New edition revised 
up to date. Invaluable to all fruit growers. Illustrated. Cloth, 
12mo. 2.00 

Fulton's Peach Culture. 

This is the only practical guide to Peach Culture on the Delaware 
Peninsula, and is the best work upon the subject of peach growing 
for those who would be successful in that culture in any part of 
the country. It has been thoroughly revised and a large portion of 
it rewitten, by Hon. J. Alexander Fulton, the author, bringing it 
down to date. Cloth, 12mo. 1.5a 

Strawberry Culturist. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Containing the History, Sexuality, Field and 
Garden Culture of Strawberries, forcing or pot culture, how to 
grow from seed, hybridizing, and all information necessary to en- 
able everybody to raise their own strawberries, together with a 
description of new varieties and a list of the best of the old sorts. 
Fully illustrated. Flexible cloth, 12mo. .25 

Fuller's Small Fruit Culturist. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Rewritten, enlarged, and brought fully up to 
the present time. The book covers the whole ground of propagating 
Small Fruits, their culture, varieties, packing for market, etc. It Ks 
very finely and thoroughly illustrated, and makes an admirable 
companion to "The Grape Culturist," by the same well known 
author. 1.5€ 



6 STANDARD BOOKS. 

Fuller's Grape Culturist. 

By A. S. Fuller. This is one of the very best of works on the Ciil- 
ture of the Hardy Grapes, with full directions for all departments 
of propagation, culture, etc., -wilh 150 excellent engravings, illus- 
trating planting, training, grafting, etc. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Quinn*s Pear Culture for Profit. 

Teaching How to Raise Tears intelligently, and with the hest re- 
sults, how to find out the character of the soil, the best nietliods of 
jireparing it, the best varieties to select under existing conditions, 
the best modes of planting, pruning, fertilizing, grafting, and utiliz- 
ing tlie ground before the trees come into bearing, and finally of 
gathering and packing for market. Hlustrated. By P. T. Quinn, 
practical horticiilturist. Cloth, 12mo 1.00 

Husmann's American Grape Growing: and Wine-Making:. 

By George Husmann of Talcoa vineyards, IS'apa, California. New 
and enlarged edition. AVith contributions from well know gi-ai^e- 
growers, giving a wide range of experience. The author of this 
book is a recognized authority on the subject. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

White's Cranberry Culture. 

Contents: — Natural History. — History of Cultivation. — Choice of 
Location.— Preparing the Ground. — Planting the Vines. — Jlanage- 
ment of MeadoAvs. — Flooding. — Enemies and Difficulties Overcome. 
— Picking. — Keeping. — Profit and Loss. — Letters from Practical 
Growers. — Insects Injurious to the Cranberry. By Joseph J. White, 
a practical grower. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. New and revised 
edition. 1.25 

Fuller's Practical Forestey. 

A Treatise on the Propagation, Planting and Cultivation, with a 
description and the botanical and j)roi5er names of all the indigen- 
ous trees of the United States, botli Evergreen and Deciduous, with 
Notes on a large number of the most valuable Exotic Species. By 
Andrew S. Fuller, author of "Grape Culturist," ."Small Fruit Cul- 
turist," etc. 1.50 

Stewart's Irrigation for the Farm, Garden and Orchard. 

TViis work is offered to those American Farmers and other cultiva- 
tors of the soil who, from x^ainful experience, can readily appre- 
ciate the losses which result from the scarcity of water at critical 
periods. By Henry Stewart. Fully illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 1.5« 

Quinn's Money in the Garden. 

By P. T. Quinn. The author gives in a plain, practical style, in- 
structions on three distinct, allhougli closely connected branches 
of gardening — the kitchen garden, market garden, and field culture, 
from successful practical experience for a term of years. Hlustra- 
ted. Cloth, 12mo. 1^ 



STANDARD BOOKS. 7 

Roe's Play and Profit in My Garden. 

By E. P. Roe. The author lakes us to his garden on the rocky hill- 
sides in tlie vicinity of West Point, and shows ns how out of it, 
after four years' experience, lie evoked a profit of ^1,000, and this 
while carrying on pastoral and literary labor. It is very rarely 
that so much literary taste and skill are mate<J to so ranch agri- 
ciiltural experience and good sense. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

The New Onion Culture. 

By T. Greiner. This new work is written by one of our most suc- 
cessful agriculturists, and is full of new, original, and highly valu- 
able matter of material interest to every one who raises onions in 
the family garden, or by the acre for market. By the process here 
described a crop of 2000 bushels per acre can be as easily raised as 
500 or 000 bushels in the old way. Paper, 12mo. .50 

The Dairyman's Manual. 

By Henry Stewart, author of "The Shepherd's Manual," "Irriga- 
tion," etc. A useful and practical work, by a writer who is well 
known as thoroughly familiar with the subject of which he writes. 
Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Allen's American Cattle. 

Their History, Breeding and Management. By Lewis F. Allen. 
This book will be considered indispensable by every breeder of 
live stock. The large exi^erience of the author in improving the 
character of American herds adds to the weight of his observations 
and has enabled him to produce a work which wiH at once make 
good his claims as a standard authority on the subject. New and 
revised edition. Illustrated, Cloth, 12mo. 2.50 

Profits in Poultry. 

Useful and ornamental Breeds and their Profitable Management. 
This excellent work contains the combined experience of a num- 
ber of practical men in all departments of poultry raising. It is 
profusely illustrated and forms a unique and important addition 
to our ijoultry literature. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

The American Standard of Perfection. 

The recognized standard work on Poultry in this country, adopted 
by the American Poultry Association. It contains a complete de- 
scription of all the recognized varieties of fowls, including turkeys, 
ducks and geese ; gives instructions to judges ; glossary of technical 
terms and nomenclature. It contains 244 pages, handsomely 
boimd in cloth, embellished with title in gold on front cover. $1.00 

Stoddard's An Egg Farm. 

By H. H. Stoddard. The management of poultry in large numbers, 
being a series of articles written for the AMERICAN AGRICULTDK- 
tST. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. -^ 



8 STANDARD BOOKS. 

Stewart's Snepherd's Manual. 

A Valuable I'raclical Treatise on the Sheep for American rarmers 
and sbeep growers. It is so plain tliat a fanner or a farmer's son 
wlio has never kept a slieep, may learn from its pages how to 
manage a floclv successfully, and yet so complete that even the ex- 
perienced shei:kl»erd may gather many suggestions from it. The 
results of personal experience of some years with the characters 
of tlie various modern breeds of sheep, and the sheep raising capa- 
bilities of many portions of our extensive territory and that of 
Canada — and the careful study of the diseases to which our sheei? 
are chiefly subject, with those by which tliey may eventually be 
aftlicted through unforseen accidents— as well as the methods of 
management called for under our circumstances, are carefully 
described. By Henry Stewart. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Wri§:ht's Practical Poultry-Keeper. 

By L. Wright. A comijlete and standard guide to the management 
of poultry, for domestic use, the markets or exhibition. It suits at 
once the plain poulterer, who must make the business pay, and the 
chicken fancier whose taste is for gay plumage and strange, bright 
birds. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. §2.00 

Harris on the Pig:. 

New Edition. Revised and enlarged by the author. The points of 
the various English and American breeds are thoroughly discussed, 
and the great advantage of using thoroughbred males clearly 
shown. The work is equally valuable to the farmer who keeps but 
lew pigs, and to the breeder on an extensive scale. By Joseph 
Harris. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser. 

A guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Disease in Domestic 
Animals. This is one of the best works on this subject, and is es- 
pecially designed to supply the need of the busy American Farm- 
er, who can rarely avail himself of the advice of a Scientific Veter- 
inarian. It is brought up to date and treats of the Prevention of 
Disease as well as of the Remedies. By Prof. Jas. Law. Cloth. 
Crown, 8vo. 3.00 

Dadd's American Cattle Doctor. 

By George H. Dadd, M. D., Veterinary Practitioner. To help every 
man to be his own cattle-doctor; giving the necessary information 
for preserving the health and curing the diseases of oxen, cows, 
sheep and swine, with a great variety of original recipes, and val- 
uable information on farm and dairy management. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Cattle Breeding:. 

By Wm. Warfield. This work is by common consent the most 
valuable and pre-eminently practical treatise on cattle-breeding 
ever published in America, being the actual experience and ob- 
servance of a practical man. Cloth, 12mo. 2.(M 



STANDAKD BOOKS. 9 

Dadd's American Cattle Doctor. 

A complete work on all tlie Diseases of Cattle, Sheep and Swine, in- 
eluding every Disease peculiar to America, and embracing all the 
latest information on the Cattle Plague and Trichina; containing 
also a guide to symptoms, a table of AVeights and Measures, and a 
list of Valuable Medicines. By George H. Dadd, V. S., twenty-five 
years a leading Veterinary Surgeon in England and the United 
States, and author of the "American Reformed Horse Book." Cloth, 
octavo. Illustrated. 2.50 

Cattle and Their Diseases. 

By A. J. Murray, M. R. C. V. S. Breeding and Management of Cat- 
tle. This is one of the very few works devoted exclusively to 
cattle diseases, and will be particularly vahiable to cattlemen 
for that reason. It is written in plain, simple language, easily un- 
derstood by any farmer, while it is learned and technical enougli 
to satisfy any veterinary surgeon. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Silos, Ensila§:e, and Sila§:e. 

A practical Treatise on the Ensilage of Fodder Corn, containing 
the most recent and authentic information on this important sub- 
ject, by Manly Miles, M. D. F. R. M. S. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. .50 

Manures. 

How to Make and How to Use them. By Frank "W. Sempers. The 
author has made a concise, practical handbook containing the lat- 
est researches in agriculture in all parts of the world. The reports 
of the agricultural experiment stations have furnished many val- 
uable suggestions. Both commercial and home-made manures 
are fully described, and many formulas for special crops and soils 
are given. Price postpaid, paper 50 cents, cloth. i.oo 

Potato Pests. 

No farmer can afford to be without this little book. It gives the 
most complete account of the Colorado Beetle anywhere to be 
found, and includes all the latest discoveries as to the habits of the 
insect and the various means for its destruction. It is well illustra- 
ted, and exhibits in a map the spread of the insect since it left its 
native home. By Prof. C. V. Riley. Paper. .50 

Your Plants. 

Plain and Practical Directions for the Treatment of Tender and 
Hardy Plants in the House and in the Garden. By James Sheehan. 
The work meets the wants of the amateur who grows a few plants 
in the window, or has a small flower garden. Paper covers. .40 

Pedder's Land-Measurer for Farmers, 

A convenient Pocket Companion, showing at once the contents of 
any piece of land, when its length and width are unknown, up to 
1500 feet either way, with various other useful farm tables. Cloth, 

.60 



10 STA.NDAKD BOOKS. 

Hop Culture. 

riain directions given by ten experienced cultivators. Revissd, 
eularj^ed and edited by A. S. Fuller. Forty engravings. .30 

Wheat Culture. 

How to double the yield and increase the profits. By D. S. Curtiss, 
"Washington, D. C. Importance of the Wheat Crop. Varieties Most 
Grown in the "United States. ExamiJles of Successful AVlieat Cul- 
ture. Illustrated. Taper covers. ' .50 

Starr's Farm Echoes. 

By F. Ratchford Starr, Echo Farm, Litchf.eld, Ct. This handsome 
little book tells how the author turned from a successfvil business 
career to agricultural pursuits, and has achieved health, happiness 
and prosperity upon his broad acres near Litclifield. Cloth, 12mo. 
Illustrated. .50 

The American Merino. For Wool or for Mutton. 

A practical and most valuable work on the selection, care, breeding 
and diseases of the Merino slieep, in all sections of the United 
States. It is a full and exhaustive treatise upon this one breed of 
sheep. By Stephen Powers. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Coburn's Swine Husbandry. 

New, revised and enlarged edition. The Breeding, Rearing, and 
Management of Swine, and the Prevention and Treatment of their 
Diseases. It is the fullest and freshest compendium relating to 
Swine Breeding yet offered. By F. B. Coburn. Cloth, 12mo. 1.75 

Tobacco Culture: Full Practical Details. 

Tills useful and valuable work contains fulldetailsof every process 
from the Selection and Propagation of the Seed and Soil to the 
Harvesting, Curing and Marketing the Crop, with illustrative en- 
gravings of the operations. The work was prepared by Fourteen 
Experienced Tobacco Growers, residing in different parts of the 
country. It also contains notes ou the Tobacco Worm, with Hlus- 
trations. 8vo. -25 

Keeping: One Cow. 

A collection of prize Essays and Selections from a number of other 
Essays, witii editorial notes, suggestions, etc. This book gives the 
latest information, and in a clear and condensed form, upon the 
management of a single Milch Cow. Illustrated with full page en- 
gravings of the most famous dairy cows. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows. 

A treatise on the Bovine Species in General. An entirely new 
translation of the last edition of this popular and instructive book. 
By Thomas J. Hand, Secretary of the American Jersey Cattle Club. 
With over 100 illustrations, especially engraved for this work. 
Cloth, 12mo. l-OO 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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